Remnant of The Cybermen
by AndrewK9000
Summary: The TARDIS arrives in The Magical Dimension, and it's up to The 9th Doctor, Rose and Jack to save the fairies of Alfea from an old enemy once thought destroyed for good
1. Chapter 1

Greetings fellow readers and writers! This is my very first Doctor Who fic and I hope you like it! Okay, this fic involved the 9th Doctor, as well as Rose and Jack. Consider this an unaired episode of Series 1, taking place between episodes 'Boom Town' and 'Bad Wolf.'

This fic also includes elements and characters from the hit show Winx Club, taking place between seasons 1 and 2, sort of a filler story.

I don't own either show, so please don't sue me, I'm just trying to tell a good fic. Now, without further delay, on with the show!!

************

The universe is full of many wonders throughout the past, present and future. Some beautiful, some terrifying, and some a bit of both. Case in point: The Magical Dimension, a large area of The Milky Way Galaxy that was sealed off from the rest of the universe long ago. It is here in this 'side-universe' that mythical creatures of all shapes and sizes live in relative harmony with humans and other races across hundreds of worlds linked by space travel and other means of transportation. Most of these beings a good, some extraordinarily good, while some are evil, and a few are obscenely evil. This is a story concerning when a great evil clashes with a great good, with everyone's favorite Time Lord in the middle of the conflict.

One of the most beautiful world of The Magical Dimension is Solaria, a world bathed in eternal sunlight. This is a world free of darkness of any kind, while when it does rain, and only on specific days at that, the sun could still be seen.

While possessing several cities full of advanced technology, and other things to be discussed later, Solaria still has plenty of unspoiled tracts of nature. It is on one of these nature preserves that this story can begin.

On a grass-covered sunlit hill, two people sat enjoying their time together. A young man and a young woman, both in their mid-teens and both very much in love. The boy was tall with brown hair and light brown eyes. He wore a blue and green shirt and blue jeans. The girl had long blond hair down to her waist that was set by a hair band. She wore an orange halter top and a green miniskirt. She seemed to radiate with an inner light that made her more beautiful in the eyes of the boy.

"What a gorgeous day," said the girl as she relaxed into the arms of the boy.

"Not as gorgeous as you," said the boy as he bent down to kiss her affectionately on the cheek.

"You're such a tease, Brandon," said the girl as she turned to face him.

"I'm serious, Stella," said the boy, Brandon, "you are the most beautiful girl in all of The Magical Dimension."

"I'll bet you say that to any pretty face that crosses your eye," said the girl, Stella, in a teasing manner.

"Well…" said Brandon, slightly flabbergasted, "well…what can I say? I'm popular among the ladies. But I only have eyes for you. You are the light of my world."

"Oh…that's so sweet," said Stella. With that she kissed him on the mouth, while he kissed back. They broke apart after a minute for some much needed air.

"I have a surprise for you," said Brandon, "don't move, I'll be right back." He then got up and walked to the bottom of the hill where a motorcycle waited. It was more like a hover-cycle since it used anti-gravity instead of wheels.

As Stella sat back and relaxed, waiting for Brandon to return with her surprised, she tensed slightly, as if sensing something. Then she relaxed again and smiled, "You never struck me as the voyeur type, Gabrielle."

From out of nowhere appeared a woman in her early twenties. She had long brown hair in a braid and dark brown, almost black eyes. She wore a green camouflage suit that made her blend in with the environment. In truth the suit was outfitted with the means to make its wearier nearly invisible in any environment, when properly used.

The woman, Gabrielle, bowed to one knee before Stella, "I'm just doing what your mother and father are trusting me to do, Princess Stella. You are the heir to the throne of Solaria; it is my honor and duty to protect your life."

"That's what Brandon is doing," said Stella as she motioned with her hand for Gabrielle to sit down, which she did. "and I can honestly say that my snookums is doing a great job."

"You mean he's going a great job making you happy," said Gabrielle, "which is a good point. My family has been protecting your family for generations, so we're almost like one big family together. Nothing would make me happier to see you with someone who can truly make you happy. But that's beside the point."

"Well what is?" Stella asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"The point," said Gabrielle in a slightly reproachful tone, "is that your family has a lot of enemies. Your father, The King, his position has been somewhat upset by the divorce. I'm not saying anything against your parents, but with the way things are, your mother and father could have handled things a bit more quietly.

"There are a lot of noble houses who would love nothing more than to make you disappear and discredit your family, thereby setting themselves up as the next rulers of Solaria. You'd think, Princess Stella, after what happened to you and your friends at school, you'd be a bit wiser to be a little more cautious when your life is concerned."

"Gabrielle," said Stella in a slightly annoyed tone, as if this conversation had happened before, "I'm glad to have you, as my bodyguard and as a friend. But you should really lighten up a bit. I'm on holiday from school, and all the baddies who caused the trouble a few weeks back are locked up. And besides…" she indicated the sunlight landscape around them, "we're on my mom's estate. I made sure that nobody else knew that Brandon and I were coming."

"Did you now?" Gabrielle asked, both impressed at Stella's rare initiative, and shocked that said initiative left plenty of room for danger to creep up on her. "Only your mother and her household staff know that you're out here?"

"Well…" Stella said hesitantly, "I didn't exactly tell them where Brandon and I were going. I didn't know we'd end up here, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I'm amazed you found us so quickly."

"Like I said," remarked Gabrielle, "It's my job to keep you safe. Did you at least bring your Mobile to call your mother in case of an emergency?"

"Oh, my phone is in the charger," said Stella sheepishly, but then her expression lightened again, "but Brandon has his, and I'm sure you've got your phone with you."

"I always have my Mobile with me," said Gabrielle. She then sighed, "honestly, Princess Stella, when are you going to start taking responsibility for yourself?"

"I am taking responsibility for myself!" said Stella, "I'm just doing it my own way. Now you tell me, Gabrielle; we're on my mother's private land. You're here, Brandon's gonna be back any second, and I'm not without my talents, so tell me, what can possibly go wrong?"

As if to answer Stella's question, twelve men wearing body armor and carrying a wide variety of weapons teleported onto the hill. They then positioned themselves around Stella and Gabrielle in a circle, cutting them off from escape

"You just had to ask," said a thoroughly annoyed Gabrielle as she and Stella shot to their feet. She then spoke to the intruders in an business-like tone, "Who are you!? What do you want?!"

"The girl," said one of the intruders, clearly the leader, "She's coming with us." He had jet-black hair and hazel eyes, his face creased with multiple scars.

"Over my dead body!" said Brandon as he approached them, an energy blade in his hands. The blade was shaped like a green broadsword. "Just hang on, Stella, I'll take care of these hoodlums in no time."

"Save some for me!" said Gabrielle as she took up a fighting stance, "Stella, stay behind me."

"I don't think any place around you is safe right now," said Stella, for indeed she and Gabrielle were surrounded.

"We don't have time for this!" exclaimed another of the intruders. He pulled out a stun blaster and shot at Stella. Gabrielle pushed Stella out of the way and got hit instead, causing her to collapse in an unconscious heap.

"Get the girl!!" shouted the lead intruder. Six of the would-be kidnappers closed in on Stella, while the other six faced Brandon, who proved himself to be a highly accomplished swordsman by fending off his opponents with ease.

But for every one of the intruders he knocked out of the way, another got in front of him, preventing Brandon from getting to Stella. Yet the golden-haired princess was far from helpless. She aimed one hand at one of the intruders and shot a beam of energy at him, said energy was as bright as the sun, blinding the intruder.

Stella managed to blind another intruder and was about to blast two more, when the lead intruder shot her with a stun blaster, knocking her unconscious.

"Stella!!" shouted Brandon as he fought harder against his opponents. But by now he was facing eight of the intruders, while one of the others was helping his blinded comrades up. The leader then grabbed hold of the disabled Stella and slung her over his shoulder.

But at that time Gabrielle was back on her feet and madder than a wet hen. "You let her go!!" she spat at the leader of the kidnappers.

"Ma'am, this isn't personal," said the leader, "I'm just doing what I have to do."

"You better not have hurt her!!" shouted Brandon as he knocked down one of his opponents, then another.

"I'm not the one who's going to hurt her," said the leader.

"Well you better let her go anyway," said Gabrielle as she glared daggers at the leader, "or there'll be no place in the universe you can hide from me."

"You're the least I need to worry about," said the leader, "and my men can agree with me. Boys, let's finish this so we can go."

Five of the intruders tackled Gabrielle, while the rest (the ones who had been blinded could see again by now) tackled Brandon. Both were stunned as they hit the ground.

"Not to shabby," said the leader as he checked his watch on his free hand, "but we could have attracted a lot of attention if this had been somewhere else. Fortunately, this girl is the last one they want, I hope. Alright, boys, let's go." With that he pressed a button on his watch, and the intruders teleported out with their ill-gotten prize.

Gabrielle and Brandon then recovered. The looked around in disbelief, "She's gone," said Gabrielle in a distant tone, "they took the princess."

"No," said Brandon in an anguished manner, like his heart was breaking as he spoke, "no!" he fell to his knees and shouted to the heavens, "STELLA!!!"


	2. Chapter 2

_2005 opening sequence of The TARDIS tumbling through Time Vortex (try saying that when you're drunk)_

**Christopher Eccleston**

**Billie Piper**

**John Barrowman**

**DOCTOR WHO**

**Remnant of the Cybermen**

**By AndrewK9000**

**Chapter 1**

From the point of view of Rose Tyler, only a minute or so had passed since she said goodbye to Mickey again, this time in the middle of Ronald Dahl Plaza in the middle of Cardiff. With the TARDIS fully fueled again, and with The Rift safe from being ripped open by Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, and said Slitheen reduced to an egg by the power of the heart of The TARIDS (she's an egg now), Rose found herself on her way to Raxacoricofallapatorus, homeworld of the Slitheen, to return the egg to a nesting place so the former criminal could have a fresh start.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that easy, a fact that Rose discovered all too well since she began her journey with The Doctor. Even now as Rose, The Doctor and the new edition to the TARDIS crew Captain Jack Harkness (former Time Agent from the 51st centaury turned renegade and con artist for his own survival) Rose had a feeling that once again she was in for an adventure of a lifetime. But little did she know that this one would be more than anything Rose could dream of in any lifetime.

Currently Rose was at one of the control panels around the central column as it oscillated up and down as The TARDIS tumbled its way through time and space, making sure that two gauges The Doctor asked her to keep an eye on didn't rise too high. Of course, The Doctor didn't specify exactly how high was too high, but then again, The Doctor had about two dozen other things to do to keep The TARDIS running.

Just then the bridge pitched left sharply, nearly causing Rose to lose her balance, then the bridge pitched back to the right, sending Rose slamming into Jack.

"If I knew you were so eager to get frisky," teased Jack as he helped Rose get her balance on the pitching deck, "I would have dressed lightly." He was wearing the same old-style military coat he wore when Rose first met Jack back in the London blitz.

"You wish," said Rose as she held onto the control panel as the deck pitched again.

"Ever played naked hide'n'seek?" Jack asked as he grinned eagerly.

"No," said Rose, "but I can guess the rules."

"Playtime can wait," said The Doctor as he pressed a button on one panel, then flipped two switches on another panel, then turned several dials on a third panel.

"How much longer until we reach Raxacoricofallapatorus?" Rose asked.

"Ah, that's the thing," said The Doctor as he moved from control panel to control panel, "for us, it'll be a matter of minutes, but centuries could be passing out there," he pointed to the door, where just beyond it time flowed like a raging river, "millennium even."

"Never a dull moment, huh?" Jack asked.

"Never," said Rose as she smiled.

Just then the deck shook far more roughly than before, like an earthquake was happening inside the TARDIS. The tremor lasted only a second, but it was enough to send Rose, Jack and The Doctor to the deck.

"What was that?" Rose asked as they got back up.

"Something exciting," said The Doctor as he checked a display screen on one of the panels, his expression growing serious as he read the information, "and very serious. That was a temporal backlash, a hiccup in the Time Vortex."

"And that's bad, right?" Rose asked.

"Could be bad, could be good," said The Doctor, "there's a million and one reasons for such a hiccup in time, though I've only experienced about 8,015."

"Actually there's a million and three reasons," said Jack to Rose in a hushed tone, "but that's just me talking."

"Shouldn't we investigate?" Rose asked.

"We could," said The Doctor, "but the chances of locating the source of the backlash are about as easy as seeing through the disguise of a Zygon, and believe me, it isn't that easy.

"It'd be easier to find the source if there were more of the hiccups, making a pattern in time that we could home in on," he checked the display screen again, "but it looks like that was a singular event."

"So we won't be going looking for any hiccups then?" Rose asked.

"Again, we could," said The Doctor, "but it'll have to wait. Right now we have a bit of a delivery to make."

Rose looked to where the egg of Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen sat in a small containment field that would keep the egg safe until they reached the nesting grounds on Raxacoricofallapatorus.

The shaking and pitching of the bridge eased and the deck leveled as the central column began to slow down and eventually stopped.

"There we are," said The Doctor, "all safe and sound." He checked another display screen, this one showing environmental data from whatever world The TARDIS arrived one. Liking what he saw, The Doctor gestured to the door, where Rose and Jack followed him to, "next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorus."

The Doctor opened the door and the stepped out onto a street full of humans. As Rose, Jack and The Doctor looked about in confusion, Rose then felt awe at the sight of tall buildings that could easily dwarf anything in London. She then saw cars that hovered, and the people were dressed in styles unlike anything she had seen before on Earth, past, present and future.

The silent confusion the three time travelers experiences was broken by Rose when she said, "I'm going to take a wild guess, and say that this is not Raxacoricofallapatorus."

"I'm still the new guy around here," said Jack, "but is this normal? I mean going to one place and winding up at another."

"This shouldn't have happened," said The Doctor as he, Rose and Jack went back into The TARDIS. The Doctor immediately went to the navigation consol, "we should have arrived at Raxacoricofallapatorus, I was sure of it this time." He typed into the consol, typed again, then kicked the consol, causing the screen to flicker and then display new data.

"Okay," said The Doctor, "this definitely isn't Raxacoricofallapatorus."

"Could we have gone to The 4th Great and Bountiful Human Empire?" Rose asked as she looked out the door again, "maybe by now, with the Jagrafess gone, they would have fixed things there."

"No, we're not on Earth," said Jack as he joined Rose at the door, "I'm sure of it."

"And we're nowhere near the year 200,000 of that I'm sure," said The Doctor as he kicked the consol again, "That hiccup in the Vortex must have sent us off course and frazzled the navigation circuits. Nothing that can't be fixed." The Doctor pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and began repairing the circuits.

"So where and when are we?" Rose asked.

"As near as I can tell," said The Doctor as he finished the necessary repairs and checked the navigation consol, "It's July of 2005."

"That's nearly three months before we met," said Rose.

"This looks kind of familiar to me," said Jack as he continued to look out the door, "I feel like I've been here before, to this world, wherever it is."

"I feel that to," said The Doctor as he joined Rose and Jack at the door, "I defiantly have been here before. He stepped outside and looked around again, "oh…oh! I have been here before, though I was much younger the last time I was here."

"How much younger?" Rose asked.

"Very young for a Time Lord of my age," said The Doctor, "I was barely out of my 200's, nearly 700 years ago, though it looks like less than twenty years has passed on this world."

"But what world is it?" Jack asked, "I can almost remember it; it's on the tip of my tongue."

"That and a lot else," said The Doctor, "we are on The Realm of Magix, right smack in the middle of The Magical Dimension!"

"Magix! Of course!" said Jack. His expression then darkened again, "oh, Magix."

"The Magical Dimension?" Rose asked.

"A large area of The Milky Way galaxy that was sealed off from the rest of the cosmos ages ago," said The Doctor in his enthusiastic manner, "a sort of universe within a universe. Here creatures that are the basis of mythology on thousands of worlds live in relative harmony."

"What kind of mythology?" Rose asked.

"Everything from trolls to goblins," said The Doctor, "from elves to demons, from witches to fairies. You name any mythological creature from Earth that uses magic, and it's here in The Magical Dimension."

It was then that Rose was briefly blinded by a bright light. When the light cleared, an elderly woman in a blue and white suit with white hair and wearing glasses stood in front of The TARDIS. The woman seemed to radiate with wisdom and kindness.

"Doctor?" the woman asked, "is it you?"

"Eleanor!" said The Doctor happily as he embraced the woman, "how are you?"

"Very well considering all that has recently happened," said the woman, Eleanor, as she hugged The Doctor back, "my goodness, I almost didn't recognize you."

"I did say that I would look different the next time we met," said The Doctor, "but you, you haven't changed at all."

"Oh don't be so modest," said the woman, "I may look old, but not as much as you probably are. How long has it been for you?"

"Nearly 700 years," said The Doctor, "and for you?"

"Almost 16 years," said the woman, "16 years since the fall of Domino." Both she and The Doctor had somber looks on their faces. But then the woman noticed Rose and Jack, "oh, are these your companions?"

"That they are," said The Doctor as he smiled, "that they are," he gestured to Rose and Jack, "Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness, I'd like to introduce an old friend of mine; Eleanor Faragonda."

"Hello," said Rose as she shook Faragonda's hand.

"_Captain_ Jack Harkness actually," said Jack as he shook Faragonda's hand.

"Oh," said a slightly surprised Faragonda, "you're _that _Jack Harkness."

"Is there any other?" Jack asked eagerly.

Just then another flash briefly blinded Rose. When her vision cleared, a middle aged woman with dark brown hair, wearing a differently cut blue and white suit and wearing glasses, stood next to Faragonda. She had a very serious look on her face.

"Headmistress!" said the newcomer in a worried tone, "what could have possibly caused you to leave the school so suddenly in a time like this?"

"An old friend has arrived," said Faragonda, "And he may just be the help we need in this new crisis."

"What crisis?" The Doctor asked, "Eleanor, what has happened?"

"I'll explain everything back at Alfea," said Faragonda.

Rose then noticed that the newcomer was glaring at Jack, and he noticed as well. A shocked look of recognition dawned on Jack's face.

"Rachel?" Jack asked, "Rachel Griselda?"

"Jack Harkness," growled the woman, Griselda. She then slapped Jack hard across his face.

"What did I do to deserve that?" Jack asked in a hurt tone as he carefully felt where he got slapped.

"As if you didn't know!" snapped Griselda, "you stood me up, you…you ten-timing man-whore!!"

"I stood you up?" Jack asked, "you stood me up! I waited at the restaurant, and you never showed!"

"Well well well," said The Doctor in a smug tone, "looks like one of your peccadilloes has finally caught up with you, Jack."

"Okay, I'll admit it," said Rose, "I'm completely lost here." This wasn't the first time that Rose had no idea what was happening,. But then again, that level of unpredictability was one of the things that made traveling with The Doctor worth it.

"Everything will be explained," said Faragonda, "but first thing's first." She snapped her fingers, (insert finger-snapping sound) and Rose found herself blinded again. But this time the intense light came with a feeling of disorientation, as if the ground she was standing on had vanished for the briefest of time, then reappeared itself.

When she could see again, Rose was stunned to find herself, Jack, The Doctor, and The TARDIS, had been teleported away from the city. They were now in the courtyard of a large walled complex made of several buildings with pink walls and blue tiled roofs. Of all the wonders she had seen since she began her travels with The Doctor, what Rose now saw was the most beautiful.

"Alfea Academy for Fairies," said The Doctor, "it hasn't changed much," but then he looked around and took in more details, "then again, it has seen better days."

Rose then saw what The Doctor saw; the walls were cracked in several places and there were holes, some of which were several feet across. The grounds of the courtyard were marked with craters of various sizes. There were burn marks all over the place, and one of the buildings was partially collapsed. Reconstruction work was in progress on the damaged areas, but the while image gave the impression of a terrible conflict had occurred.

"What happened here?" Jack asked.

"A great evil was unleashed on this world," said Griselda, "one that consumed Red Fountain and nearly consumed Alfea with it."

"But luck was with us," said Faragonda, "nobody was killed, and very few were seriously hurt. Work has begun rebuilding that which was destroyed. But a new crisis has emerged?"

"And what crisis is that?" The Doctor asked.

"I'll tell you what crisis," said a girl as she walked towards them from one of the buildings. She looked to be about 16 or so, had light skin, waist-length red and orange hair with blue eyes that had just a hint of green. She wore a red and blue shirt with hip-hugger jeans and yellow wedgie-sandals. She seemed to have an aura of determination and great courage.

"I'll tell you the crisis that's going on," said the girl, "my best friend was kidnapped today, and nobody knows why."

********

Far across the cosmos, on an otherwise empty world that had a barely breathable atmosphere, there was a small enclosed outpost. It was little more than a dome-like building that had its own life-support system, protected from outside hazards by an energy shield.

Inside were several large rooms. The kidnappers teleported into one of these rooms with their stolen charge.

"Set the girl down," the lead kidnapper, "fit her with the collar."

"Yes boss," said one of the kidnappers. He and another carefully lowered Stella to the ground and began fitting a strange metal device around her neck.

"You think she's the last one they want, boss?" another of the kidnappers asked. He was a man in his mid-thirties with dark brown hair and brown eyes.

"I hope so, Roy," said the lead kidnapper, "I hope so. This business disgusts me."

"Then why are we doing it?" Roy asked, "we still have our weapons, and we know where they are keeping our people. One good sneak attack and…"

"They've anticipated any move we can make," said the leader, "you and I may have nothing to lose. But Steve and Kevin," he pointed to the two who were fitting the collar around Stella, "they and the others, they're in this the most."

"What can we do to end this without losing that which is precious to us?" another of the kidnappers asked.

"All we can do for now is cooperate," said the leader in a defeated tone, "and pray for a miracle." Just then his watch beeped, "they want to talk to me. Let's just hope that this girl is the last one." With that he went to another part of the building, an office that was accessed via some stairs. He went in and turned on the light. The other kidnappers could see their leader speaking to two very large shadowed shapes.

"I can't believe we're letting those abominations do this to us!" snapped another of the kidnappers, "we're bodyguards! Not kidnappers!"

"I know, Mark," said Roy, "but there's nothing we can do about it."

Just then Stella woke up, "what the…? Where am I!? Who are you people?! What do you want with me!?!"

"Just calm down, miss," said Steve, "we're not going to hurt you."

"We're really sorry you got involved in this," said Kevin as he and Steve finished attaching the collar. When it was fully attacked, a series of colored lights went on. Stella then let out a pain-filled gasped.

"What are you doing to me?" she asked as the pain subsided. Whatever it was that the collar was doing to her, it was leaving her weakened in more ways than physically.

"That's just to make sure you don't run away," said Roy, "even without it, it'd be pointless to escape. The environment outside the base isn't the best to be running about in."

"It's also to keep you from using your magic," said Mark, "that and something else. Don't ask us what that purpose is, miss, you're better off not knowing. But believe us, none of this was our idea."

Steve and Kevin then helped Stella to her feet. Even though she was feeling nearly exhausted, she had an air of determination that marked one of royal blood and knew how to use that social status. "If it's money you maniacs want, I'm sure my parents would be willing to negotiate a proper ransom."

"We didn't do this for money," said Kevin, "something far more precious is at stake. And besides, we're not in charge here. Our employers." he pointed at the shadowed figures in the window of the upstairs office, "they're the ones pulling all the strings."

"Then let me talk to them!" Stella demanded, "I'm sure they'll be willing to negotiate."

"You just don't get it," sighed Roy, "our employers, they don't want money. They want you."

Just then the door to the upstairs office banged open. The leader stomped down the stairs, an enraged expression on his face as the door to the office closed before Stella could get a look at the masterminds behind her kidnapping.

"Well?" Roy asked.

The leader rushed passed Roy without speaking to him, totally oblivious to everyone around him.

"Boss!" shouted Roy, "Malcolm! What happened!?"

The leader, Malcolm stopped and turned around, "they want more."

"More!?" Kevin asked in an exasperated tone, "how can they want more?"

"They just do," said Malcolm, "they just said to bring them more."

"How many more?" Steve asked.

"They didn't give me an exact number," said Malcolm, "they told me that when we brought enough, they would tell us that it would be enough."

"Meanwhile our people are still at their mercy," said Mark in an angry tone.

"I asked them to let some of our people go," said Malcolm, "as a sign of good faith. I asked to let the children go, they said they'd consider it."

"Abominations!" snapped Roy.

"That they are," said Malcolm, "but all we can do now is carry on. Get everyone together; I want to be ready for another capture within the hour."

"What about this one?" Kevin asked, indicating Stella.

"Put her with the others," said Malcolm.

"Others?" Stella asked.

"You're not the first fairy that we've been forced to abduct," said Malcolm, "nor will you be the last."

"But why?" Stella asked, "why are you doing this?"

"We have no choice," said Mark, "it's either you fairies, or our families. If we don't do as our employers demand, our families, and then ourselves, will suffer a fate worse than death."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

"Who would kidnap your best friend?" Rose asked the redheaded girl.

"That's what I intend to find out," said the redhead. There was a fire in her eyes that Rose could tell was mixed with outrage that her friend was taken, fear for the safety of her friend and longing for the return of her friend.

But there was something else. Rose couldn't tell what it was, but this girl had something inside her, a power that could do great and terrible things, depending on how it was used.

"Were there any clues as to who did it?" Jack asked.

"None that we know of," said Faragonda, "Bloom's friend, Stella, she was with her boyfriend, Brandon, and her bodyguard, Gabriele. About twenty unidentified men teleported around them and attacked them, disabling Brandon and Gabriele, and taking Stella without leaving a shred of evidence as to their identity."

"I'm going to kill them," said the redhead, Bloom as he angrily paced back and forth, "I'm going to find the bastards and burn them alive for taking Stella!"

"Just calm down, Bloom," said Griselda in a stern yet placating tone, "you won't do Stella any good by getting upset."

"I'm way past upset, Ms. Griselda," said Bloom, "I'm mad enough to burn a demon on general principle."

"But that won't solve anything, now would it?" The Doctor asked.

"It'll make me feel better," said Bloom,.

"She's definitely Miriam's daughter," said The Doctor to Faragonda, "and she has Oritel's tenacity."

"Wait, you know my parents?" Bloom asked in a surprised tone, "my real parents from Domino?"

"Know them?" The Doctor asked, "I'm practically your unofficial godfather, Bloom of Domino."

"My godfather?" Bloom asked as she began to calm down.

"Oh, yes, I see it now," said Jack as he looked at Bloom, "she looks just like Miriam, except for the eyes. Miriam had green eyes. Yet Oritel had brown eyes. I can't exactly remember, but one of her grandparents had those exact shade of blue eyes."

Once again Rose had no idea what was going on. Fortunately for her, The Doctor had an explanation.

"You see, Rose," said The Doctor, "Bloom is from Domino, once the political, social and other such things center of The Magical Dimension. More so because, according to legend, the creature that first created The Magical Dimension, The Great Dragon, settled on Domino and gave that world life. And this girl here, she is the rightful successor of the legendary power that created this little side universe.

"Bloom is the daughter of the last King and Queen of Domino, Oritel and Miriam, very good friends of mine when I was younger. It's been almost 700 years since I was here, but not quite 16 years have passed for Bloom."

"And they've passed very well for her," said Jack as he eagerly shook Bloom's hand, "Captain Jack Harkness, former Time Agent, and another good friend of your parents."

"Don't even think about it," said Griselda in an annoyed tone.

"I was just saying hello," said Jack.

"For you that's flirting," said The Doctor. He then spoke to Faragonda, "So, exactly what happened?"

"Brandon can better explain it," said Faragonda, "he was there after all."

Rose, Jack and The Doctor were then showed inside one of the pink buildings to what was clearly a teacher's lounge. There were two teenage boys, about 17 each. Both were tall, one with shoulder-length blond hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a blue and white shirt over blue jeans. The other had brown hair, light brown eyes and wore a green and blue shirt over blue jeans of a different style. This one was sitting on a couch with a dejected look on his otherwise handsome face. The blond boy, equally handsome in a different style, was trying to help him, sort of.

"It's not your fault, Brandon," said the blond, "there was nothing you could have done differently."

"I could have tried harder, Sky," said the moping boy, Brandon, "if I has just tried harder, Stella wouldn't be gone."

"You had no idea they would use stun blasters," said the blond, Sky, "they had superior numbers and clearly more experience than you and Stella's bodyguard. You did everything you could have, Brandon."

"Frankly I'm impressed that they didn't kill you," said Griselda.

"You're not helping," said an irate Bloom. She then sat down next to Brandon, "we'll find Stella, Brandon, I promise."

"You'd better believe her, Brandon," said Sky, "when Bloom makes a promise, she keeps it."

"Oh I believe her," said Brandon, "it's just that, I feel like my heart has been ripped in half. When they took Stella, it felt like they took part of me with her."

"Then she's not alone," said Bloom, "Stella may not be the brightest star in the galaxy, but she's got heart, and if part of you is with her then her heart is that much stronger."

"Again, you are your father's daughter," said The Doctor, "you have Oritel's wisdom, and wit."

"He knew your father?" Sky asked Bloom.

"Apparently he's my unofficial godfather," said Bloom.

"And just who is he?" Brandon asked.

"I'm The Doctor; I'm here to help."

"Captain Jack Harkness, at your service," said Jack as he eagerly shook Brandon's hand. He then focused on Sky, "and you must be…"

"Under age is what they are," said Griselda in a disapproving tone.

"I was just saying hello," said Jack, he then focused on Sky, "as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, you're Sky of Eraklyon. I'm also a friend of your parents, though I'm sure they won't remember me."

"Given your past record," said Griselda, "that'll be unlikely."

"It's been nearly 20 years for them," said Jack, "I'm sure they've forgotten about 'that.'"

"Wait a second," said Sky, "I remember my mom and dad telling me about this guy, this time traveler from the 51st century, who nearly blew up our summer house."

"Oh, well," said Jack hesitantly, "I'm sure that was another Jack Harkness."

"God help the universe if there's two of you," said Rose.

"Oh, you're _that_ Jack Harkness," said Brandon as his mood lifted, "well let me tell you, it is an honor to meet such a great man. The things you've done, just incredible."

"I'm not that special," said Jack, "but, yes, I've done a lot of stuff here and there."

"Modesty isn't one of his qualities," said Rose to Bloom.

"I can see that," said Bloom, "I never got your name."

So she introduced herself, "Rose Tyler," she shook Bloom's hand, "from London, England."

"You're from Earth?" Bloom asked. Rose nodded, "I'm only asking because I spent most of my life there in California."

"If you're from a world called Domino," said Rose, "why were you living on Earth?"

"It's a long and complicated story," said Bloom. Just then someone's Mobile rang, and it tuned out to be Blooms'. She took her phone out of her pocket and read the text message, "it's from Tecna, she and Timmy are on their way, and they've got bad news."

"What kind of bad news?" Rose asked.

"Really bad," said Bloom as she read more of the message, "Stella wasn't the first fairy to be kidnapped. There's been reports of abductions from over a dozen worlds within the past two days."

"It's worse than I've thought," said Faragonda, "our kind are being target."

"But who's doing this?" Bloom asked, "what sort of horrible person would want to kidnap fairies?"

"I can think of at least a dozen foul, vile, loathsome creatures alone in The Magical Dimension that would profit from such a crime," said Griselda.

"Wait a second," said Rose. She looked at Bloom, "you said you're a fairy?" At this Bloom smiled and nodded, "But you're human!"

"Thing's aren't always what they seem," said The Doctor, "especially in the Magical Dimension. Young Bloom here may look human on the outside, but within is a power to do great good."

"It's our mission as fairies," said Faragonda, "to help the innocent and solve problems, to give hope where there is none, and to bring light where there is darkness."

Just then Blooms' Mobile rang again, delivering another text, "They're here!" she rushed outside. Rose, The Doctor and the others followed.

They saw Bloom meet two people in the courtyard, a boy and a girl. The girl about her age with magenta colored, pixie/boy-cut styled hair, teal eyes, and a pale skin tone. She wore a soft purple and lime green vest top, soft purple flared fitted cropped pants and same color shoes.

The boy looked to be about 17 and had the appearance of a nerd who worked out. He had short orange hair and very large glasses. He wore a yellow and brown hoodie jacket and blue jeans.

Both had the overall appearance of people with vast intellects.

"It's awful, Bloom," said the girl, Tecna, "nearly 30 fairies have been reported abducted."

"Thirty one if you could Stella," said Timmy.

"What about Flora?" Bloom asked, "Is she alright?"

"Last we heard she was," said Tecna, "She's back on her home world, Lynphea. Musa and Riven have gone to make sure she's alright."

"How's Brandon doing?" Timmy asked.

"He feels like his heart has been ripped in two," said Sky, "but I think he'll be alright, once we find the bastards who are responsible."

"And we will find them," said Bloom, "we're going to find them and teach them a lesson they'll never forget. Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it."

"You must really care about your friends," said Rose.

"You'd be this upset if your best friend was kidnapped for no apparent reason," said Bloom, "oh, this is Rose Tyler from Earth," she pointed to Jack, "Jack Harkness from the 51st century, and that's The Doctor. Apparently he's my unofficial godfather."

"_The _Doctor?" a surprised and eager Tecna asked.

"Of Gallifrey?" Timmy asked in an equally excited tone.

"The one and only," said The Doctor.

"Oh, sir," said Tecna as she and Timmy shook hands with The Doctor, "it is an honor and a privilege to meet you."

"To think that I'm actually talking with the greatest time traveler in all the universe," said Timmy.

"You're a time traveler?" Bloom asked The Doctor.

"Oh yes, indeed," said The Doctor.

"The greatest time traveler of them all," said Timmy.

"Oh I'm not that special," said The Doctor modestly, "fantastic maybe, but not special."

Just then Rose saw Bloom tense, as if she were sensing something terrible was happening, or about to happen.

"What is it?" Sky asked.

"It's Flora," said Bloom in a nervous tone, "she's in danger, I just know it. I had this same feeling before, right at the exact same time Stella was taken."

********

Elsewhere in The Magical Dimension there lay a world where man learned to live in harmony with nature. Nearly all the land surface of Lynphea was covered in vast forests full thousands of species of trees and other plants.

In one of these forest sat a girl about 16 with ling brown hair, a tan complexion and deep green eyes. She wore a green midriff, off-the-shoulder top, a fuchsia colored, faux wrap, short skirt decorated with strawberries, two sets of yellow bangle bracelets on each arm, and fuchsia colored platform sandals. This girl normally exuded an aura of kindness and serenity. But now, as she paced back and forth with her Mobile to her ear, the girl was feeling fear in its worst kind; fear for your own life.

"How much longer are you going to be, Musa?" the girl asked.

"We're on our way to get you, Flora" said a girl on the other end of the Mobile, Musa, "Riven borrowed his dad's car and we're less than five minutes from you."

"Please hurry," said the tan girl, Flora, "after what happened to Stella…"

"There's no way we're going to let that happen to you, Flora," said a boy at the other end of the line, "trust me on this."

"I want to trust you, Riven," said Flora, "but considering that you spent all those weeks under the thrall of a witch, your level of trust is sort of below part."

"That's not like you to say such a thing, Flora," said Musa.

"I know," said Flora, "I'm just stressed out. I mean, Stella's been abducted, and now there's news that fairies from across The Magical Dimension have been taken," she sighed, "I'm just scared, that's all."

"Well you won't be alone much longer," said Musa, "we're almost there. So just relax, and….you back to… in no…" for some reason the reception for the call was fading, from five bars down to two almost instantly, then no bars.

"Musa?" Flora asked nervously, but she only got static on her Mobile.

Just then Flora sensed that she wasn't alone. But it wasn't her friends. She turned around and saw the kidnappers had teleported around her.

"It's you," said Flora, her voice strained with terror, "you're the ones who took Stella and all those other fairies."

"I'm afraid so, miss," said Roy, "and I'm also afraid that you're going to have to come with us."

"No," Flora said defiantly as she regained her composure, "I don't know who you people are working for or why you're doing this, but I won't let you take me!"

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter," said Malcolm, "we mean you no harm, but we have to take you with us, no matter what."

"We can do this either the easy way or the hard way," said Kevin, "it's your choice."

"I'd rather not choose," said Flora, "I abhor violence, but if my life is at stake I will defend myself."

"I'm sure you'll try," said Steve.

"I already have," said Flora as she smiled.

Just then Malcolm noticed that several vines were creeping along the ground towards himself and his men. "Scatter! Don't let the vines touch you!"

Most of the kidnappers jumped out of the way, but three of them were too slow to prevent themselves from being ensnared by the vines. The creepers constricted around the three kidnappers until they lost coconsciousness from lack of oxygen. The vines then relaxed and retreated from their victims, leaving the kidnappers out cold but alive.

"I said I abhor violence," said Flora, "but I will defend myself. You maniacs made a mistake coming after me in my element." she waved at the trees around her.

"I respect that," said Malcolm as he came out from cover behind a tree, "but I'm afraid you're still at a disadvantage. There's still the rest of us, and we more than outnumber you."

"Oh I don't have to worry about that," said Flora, "numbers aren't everything If there's one thing I've learned from hanging out with Red Fountain boys, where you fight is equally important as numbers." She gestured with her hand, a bright green glow emanated from her fingers. Two seconds later five of the kidnappers screamed as they got hit by thorns that several bushes shot at them. The five men then collapsed to the ground, still alive but unmoving.

"The toxin in those thorns isn't lethal," said Flora, "but they won't be going anywhere any time soon."

"Your prowess with plant magic is impressive," said Malcolm.

"I'm just getting started," said Flora. Another gesture of her hand and several trees bent down and pinned another five of the kidnappers to the ground with their branches.

"Not bad," said Steve, "not bad at all. I guess your magic is why our employers want you fairies so badly."

"Why do they want us?" Flora asked. Unfortunately for her, this was the opening that Roy had been looking for. He got behind Flora and shot her with his stun blaster, knocking her out cold.

Just then the trees released their hold on the five kidnappers, while the ones who got hit with the poisoned thorns began to recover.

"This one was harder than the last one," said Malcolm as his people began pulling themselves together.

"Maybe because this one was smatter than the blond," said Steve as he slung the unconscious Flora over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"You maybe right," said Kevin.

"Let's just get her back to base," said Roy.

Just then a hovercar screeched to a halt. The doors opened. From the driver's side was a boy about 17 with fuchsia colored hair, brown eyes and wearing a blue and yellow shirt over blue jeans. From the passenger side door came a girl, about 16, with dark blue hair done up in pigtails and dark blue eyes. She had a pale, Asian complexion and wore a red one shoulder top, one purple colored armband on her left arm, baggy jeans and red sneakers.

"Hey!!" shouted the boy, Riven. He pulled out an energy sword, the blade was shaped like a purple scimitar.

"You let her go!" shouted the girl, Musa.

"Nothing would make me happier than to end this madness," said Malcolm, "but we have to take the girl."

"In your dreams, bastard!" snapped Riven.

"Sorry, tough guy," said Kevin, "but we can't play right now."

"We're on a tight schedule," said Steve, "hope you'll understand." With hat the kidnappers teleported out with their captive.

"Damn!!" exclaimed Riven.

"This is terrible," said Musa, "now they have Flora."

"They may come after you next," said Riven.

"Well thanks for such encouraging words, Riven," said Musa in a sarcastic tone, then switched to a more serious one, "but you're right. They could be back at any second."

"Let's just get you back to Alfea with the others," said Riven.

********

Back in the headquarters of the kidnappers, Stella sat in a large, poorly lit room with over thirty other teenaged fairies that were taken from across The Magical Dimension. All of them had different looks and outfits, and all of them had different aspects of magic.

But they all had two things in common; every fairy in that room had a collar around their neck, and those collars were sapping their energy, preventing them from using their magic to escape, and they were all extremely frightened

Most of the captive fairies were huddled in groups of three or four, all of them fearful of what would happen next. Only Stella remained alone, for none of the captive fairies she was with was someone she knew personally. The young fairy of Solaria missed her friends dearly, but mostly, she missed her Brandon.

Just then the door, which was locked form the outside, burst open. Steve and Kevin then deposited the still unconscious Flora inside the room and quickly left the room, closing and locking the door as they went.

"Flora!!" exclaimed Stella as she recognized the unconscious fairy. She rushed over, as fast as she could in her weakened state, just as Flora began to wake up.

"Stella?" Flora asked in a tone that was barely above a whisper as she fought to keep her eyes open, "what…where are we?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Stella as she helped Flora sit up. "Oh no, they put a collar on you to."

"A what?" Flora asked. She felt around her neck and was shocked to find the metal device was there, "What is this thing?!"

"I'm not sure," said Stella, "but it's draining us of our magic. I can barely make as much light as a candle. I tried to get mine off, but I couldn't. I don't think you'll have much luck either with yours."

Flora then realized that she and Stella weren't alone in the room, "why are they doing this to us?"

"I wish I knew," said Stella, "the ones who took us, they're acting on someone else's orders, and they aren't the type to negotiate a ransom," she then looked like she was about to cry, "oh, Flora," she then embraced her friend and began sobbing onto her shoulder, "I can't stand this! I want to go home! I want to be in the sunlight! I want to go shopping! I want Bloom and the others! And I want my Brandon!!"

"Everything's going to be alright, Stella," said Flora as she hugged her back, "I don't know how, but everything going to be alright."

"How?" sobbed Stella.

"Bloom will find us," said Flora, "she saved us all from the witches, and she'll save us again. The others will find us as well."

"I hope so," said Stella as she began to calm down, "I'm not doubting Bloom and the others, but I've got this terrible feeling that this way more than a simple kidnapping scam. I fell like we're in terrible danger, worse than anything we've ever been in."

"I've got the same feeling as well," said Flora.

Unknown to the captive fairies, their captors were watching them via view screens.

"At least the blond girl isn't alone anymore," said Roy, "that's something."

"She'll need all the comfort she can get before she and the others are handed over to those things," said another of the kidnappers. He indicated the upstairs office, where Malcolm was speaking again to the shadowed employers.

"What do you think our employers are going to do to them, Hank?" another of the kidnappers asked.

"I don't know, Irwin," said Hank, "or maybe I don't want to know."

"Just thinking about those things," said Roy, "those…creatures, they're worst than monsters."

At that time Malcolm left the office. But this time the door was open long enough for Roy and his comrades to get a glimpse of a metal hand being retracted into the shadows.

"Well?" Roy asked.

"Just three more," said Malcolm, "our employers only want three more fairies. Then we can see our families again."

"Oh thank the stars," sighed Kevin, while the others also had relieved looks on their faces, "just three more and this horrible mess will be over with."

"It may not be that simple," said Malcolm. He then handed out copies of three photographs, "these are the ones our employees want. They specifically demanded them."

Roy and his comrades looked at the pictures, revealing them to be photos of Bloom, Tecna and Musa.

"That's the girl we saw on Lynphea," said Steve, pointing to the photo of Musa, "we could have grabbed her then and there and made our job that much simpler."

"We didn't know she was a fairy at the time," said Roy, "and even so, considering how much trouble the last one gave us, our chances of success were rather low. We may have lost both targets had we tried to get the second one."

"And now she's back on Magix by now," said Malcolm, "under the protection of the Alfea headmistress, and who knows what else."

"But Alfea is still recovering from the mess with those three psycho witches from a few weeks ago," said Kevin, "if we attack now…"

"We need to work out a plan," said Malcolm, "a good plan. The last two, the Sun fairy and the Flower fairy, they are among the five strongest fairies of their age group," he pointed to the photos, "and those are the other three, especially that one," he tapped the photo of Bloom, "she may be the strongest of them all, and that's why our employers want her the most."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

"You mean you were in The London Blitz?" Bloom asked Rose, "and met Charles Dickenson?" They were sitting under one of the trees in the Alfea courtyard, swapping adventures.

"And we went all the way to the year 200,000 AD," said Rose, "and before that I saw the sun destroy Earth in the year 5,000,000,000."

"Well everyone says that's what's supposed to happen to Earth in the far future," said Bloom, "everything that has a beginning has an ending. But that's nothing compared to what I've been through."

"Oh really?" Rose asked, "what have you been through?"

"I nearly got eaten by a saber-toothed yeti when my friends and I went to Domino," said Bloom.

"I don't know about a saber-toothed yeti," said Rose, "but The Doctor once told me he met a regular yeti, and the Loch Ness Monster, and I think he said something about these things called Silurians."

"Never heard of them," said Bloom, "but I have faced trolls, goblins, ogres, swamp monsters, ice monsters, a trio of psychotic witches, and…I really don't know what those thing were exactly that attacked Alfea a few weeks back."

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked.

"You saw the damage Alfea has suffered," said Bloom. Rose nodded at this. "Well, those psychotic witches I mentioned, they lead that army of monsters that attacked Alfea and nearly killed us all. If I hadn't pulled myself together and regained control over my powers, I don't even want to think about what would have happened."

"It was that bad?" Rose asked.

"Worse," said Bloom, "you told me that you and The Doctor faced a single Dalek in the year 2012. I've heard terrible things about Daleks, some of them too terrible to be believed.

"But everything I've heard that The Daleks did, they did it all for their own survival, however misguided that survival was. They believed that the only way their race could survive was to destroy everything that wasn't like them. They did what they did because they saw everyone else as evil.

"Those three psycho witches, the ones who harassed my friends all last year and tricked me into believing that I lost my powers, the one who nearly destroyed Magix, they did what they did because they thought it was fun. They knew they were evil, and they relished in it.

"And here's another difference. With Daleks, one blast of that death ray of theirs and that's it, you're dead. With the witches, they'll keep you alive just to make you suffer as much as possible. And they'll also make those you care about suffer as well, and they'd laugh at it."

"I guess there are different levels of evil," said Rose, "and that evil is in the eye of the beholder. The Slitheen thought all they did was business, evil business, but business none the less. But one of them was given a chance to start over, a chance at a new life. That's why Jack, The Doctor and I were on our way to Raxacoricofallapatorus, so that her egg can hatch into a better life."

"Some people do take the chance for redemption when it's given," said Bloom, "but those witches we faced, they the kind that would spit on redemption."

"You must really hate witches," said Rose.

"Only the three who made so much trouble for me and my friends," said Bloom, "most witches use their magic to cause trouble, while us fairies use our magic to clean up that trouble. It's all balanced out in the end. But some witches prefer to use their magic to help people, and they're very good people on the inside."

"What about the boys?" Rose asked, "Specialists, you called them."

"Heroes in training for the most part," said Bloom, "Alfea is one of three schools on Magix. The other two, Cloud Tower for witches, and Red Fountain for Heroes. The psycho witches destroyed Red Fountain during their rampage, but it's being rebuilt as we speak. And Alfea has one really dedicated custodian now," she pointed to a yellow-skinned ogre wearing brown overalls and glasses.

The ogre was scrubbing scorch marks from the walls. "Hi, Knut!" said Bloom. The ogre smiled and waved back.

"Anyway," said Bloom, "as for the boys. You've already met Sky and Brandon. It's funny, but when I first met them, which happened to be the same day I first discovered my powers, they were using each other's names.

"Sky is the heir to the throne of Eraklyon, and Brandon is his sworn squire and best friend. They switched identities when they started at Red Fountain, mostly for security reasons, but partly so that Sky would know what it was like to be a regular person.

"Sky and I had become friends, when I thought he was Brandon, but things got a little complicated when I learned the truth. But things eventually worked out. I'm not sure if what we have is love, but I can't imagine life without him.

"As for Brandon and Stella, anyone with half a brain can tell that they're soul mates. It doesn't matter that she's a princess and he's just a knight in training, they were made for each other. You'll see what I'm talking about when we find Stella, and we will find her."

"I know we will," said Rose, "because The Doctor promised we would. I've only known The Doctor for a while, but he's the kind of person who keeps a promise. And so is Jack, even though I've known him for less time."

"Well," said Bloom as she looked across the courtyard. On the steps to the main building of the school was Jack, talking with Brandon and Sky, "I've heard quite a few urban legends about Jack Harkness. I didn't recognize the name at first when you got here, but I thought about it, and he's quite the folk hero on Magix, an adult folk hero that is."

"And just what have you heard about brave Captain Jack?" Rose asked in an eager tone.

"If half the stories I've heard about him were true," said Bloom, "then he makes Casanova and Don Juan look like The Pope."

"You may be right," laughed Rose. "What about your other friends."

"Tecna and Timmy," said Blome. She pointed to her two smart friends, who were at another part of the courtyard, having a very detailed conversation with The Doctor, "they're probably the smartest people I know, very smart. Timmy's socially awkward, and Tecna has trouble expressing herself with her emotions. But I think I may have helped them get over they problems, and they're good for each other.

"Tecna's aspect of magic involves science and technology, while Timmy's he's sort of a gun slinger with that blaster of his. On the other hand, Sky and Brandon are pure swordsmen.

"My other friends, Flora and Musa, you'll meet them soon. Their names go hand and hand with their magic. Flora listens to the voice of nature, while Musa is all about music.

"What else… Flora is single, and she's okay with it. She's waiting for Mr. Right. As for Musa, she and Riven have a complicated relationship, a very complicated relationship. You see, Riven is an ass, a total jerk, but his heart is in the right place. For a while it seemed that he was warming up to Musa, but then one of the psycho witches put the whammy on him and he broke Musa's heart.

"They eventually came to terms with each other before the final battle with the psycho witches. They're friends, but whether or not they'll be more than friends, that's something none of us can predict.

"And as for Stella…" Bloom trained off, her face beginning to show signs of anger and longing.

"We'll find her," said Rose, "if there's anyone who can, it's The Doctor."

"You must really like him," said Bloom.

"What, me?" Rose asked, "well…he is nice, a bit hard to understand sometimes, and he is 900 years old after all, but…"

"You don't know what you want," said Bloom.

"I do have a boyfriend back home on Earth," said Rose, "or at least we used to before I met The Doctor. Mickey has been waiting for me each time I stopped back home for a visit, but I really don't know how long he'll wait for me next time.

"And then of course there's my mum. She's a bit out there, but she's my mum. This one time, just after The Doctor and I met Charles Dickenson, we meant to come back home after only 12 hours had passed since I left London, but The TARDIS returned us a year after we left, so it was 2006 instead of 2005."

"Your mother must have been out of her mind," said Bloom.

"You have no idea," said Rose, "so, Bloom, what's your aspect of magic?"

"Fire is my element," said Bloom. With one hand held out she held a ball of flames, "or Dragonfire as it's called," she extinguished the flames, then made a similar fireball appear in her other hand.

"This power of mine was given to me when I was just a baby," said Bloom, "I was mean to have The Dragonfire, to use it for justice and righteousness. But great power tends to attract unwanted desires from those who would use it for all the wrong reasons."

"The psycho witches," said Rose.

"They did everything they could to make my life here at Alfea miserable," said Bloom, "they held my parents hostage and forced me to give up my powers. But all they did was siphon off an incredible amount of energy from me, while convincing me that my powers were gone. I fooled myself into believing that a part of me could be taken away.

"But I realized what I did wrong and got control of my magic back. With the help of my friends, we stopped the psycho witches before they could plunge all of The Magical Dimension into darkness."

"What happen to them?" Rose asked.

"They're locked away in a rehabilitation clinic," said Bloom, "personally I believe that they should be locked away for life, but the justice system believes that they deserve a second chance."

"And you don't?" Rose asked.

"You'd feel the same way if you'd been in my shoes the past couple of months," said Bloom, "but enough about insane witches. What else can I do…oh, I have the ability to see within people."

"You mean like X-ray vision?" Rose asked.

"More like I can see their souls," said Bloom, "I can see what kind of person they are, like if they have a kind heart or a selfish heart. I can see that you are kind, curious and have great reserves of courage. And also you like French Fries."

"We call 'em chips in London," said Rose.

"Oh, that's right," said Bloom, "anyway, I'm still working on strengthen my powers. We all are at Alfea. Eventually I'll be able to use my sight ability to tell when someone is lying."

"That's a handy power" said Rose.

"It is," said Bloom, "you're taking this whole magic and fairies thing pretty well. Earth hasn't had any magical beings for centuries, that nearly all mortals don't believe in magic."

"Most people on Earth don't believe in aliens either," said Rose, "but that may change. As for me, if there's one thing I've learned from traveling with The Doctor, it's to keep an open mind about things."

Just then two teenagers entered the courtyard, a boy with fuchsia hair and a girl with blue pigtails.

"They took Flora!" said Musa.

"What!?" exclaimed Bloom as she, Rose and the others rushed over.

"We were too late," said Riven, "by the time we got there, the kidnappers had Flora and they left before we could do anything. If we had just been a minute sooner, thirty seconds…"

"We could have saved her," said Musa in a defeated tone, "but we didn't."

"I'm sure you would have done your best," said Faragonda, "that's all an Alfea student is expected of."

"It wouldn't have made a difference," said Riven, "I recognized the uniforms those guys wore. They're part of the Jasinian clan."

"Jasinian clan," said Rose.

"They're a warrior clan who specialize as bodyguards," said Tecna as she typed information into and read from a wrist-mounted computer on her left arm, "but they've also been known to partake in search and rescue missions. They're capable of moving in and out of a location quickly and quietly without the enemy knowing they were there."

"That's probably how they've been able to abduct so many fairies in such a short time," said Rose, "but that still doesn't tell us where they're taking the fairies."

"Nor does it tell us why they're doing it," said The Doctor.

"It doesn't," said Jack.

"Who are these guys?" Riven asked in an abrupt tone.

"They're here to help," said Bloom, "That's Rose Tyler, from Earth, that's Jack Harkness, he's from the 51st centaury, and that's The Doctor, my unofficial godfather."

"_Captain _Jack Harkness actually," said Jack as he shook hands with Musa and Riven, "and I'm very pleased to meet you both."

"Don't start," said an irate Griselda.

"I can't even say hello?" Jack asked in a hurt tone. He then whispered to Musa and Riven, "we'll talk later when the grouch isn't around. Then we can get to know each other better."

"Was he flirting with me?" Riven whispered to Musa.

"He's been flirting with us all," said Brandon, "he's _that _Jack Harkness."

"Oh," said Riven, "_that _Jack Harkness."

"What can I say?" Jack asked, "fame is a fickle thing."

Just then there was a loud crackling in the air, as if something was trying to break through something.

"The defensive spells," said Faragonda, "someone is trying to teleport into Alfea. Only a handful of people other than fairies are permitted to do that."

"And the spells haven't had enough time to recharge after the fighting," said Griselda, "whoever it is, they will come."

"It's the kidnappers," said Bloom, "I know it's them!" Rose saw the anger in the girl's eyes, as if she wanted to fight.

Rose then looked up to see a transparent dome of energy encasing the school. But something was cracking through the dome. The cracks formed a spider web across the dome, and seconds later the dome shattered, the pieces dissolving into nothingness before they hit the ground.

Sixteen men teleported onto the courtyard, each of them wearing black body armor and carrying stunning rifles.

"Get the fairies!" shouted one of the kidnappers.

"The hell you will!!" shouted Bloom. She then held out her arm, and Rose saw flames shooting form her hand.

The fire shot towards the kidnappers, hitting five of them. Yet the body armor absorbed the energy of the fire, so all that it did was knock them to the ground. They quickly got up and began shooting stunning blasts at Bloom, Tecna and Musa.

Bloom then created shields around her friends, shields made of fire that deflected the stunning bolts.

Rose then saw Sky, Riven and Brandon attack the kidnappers with energy blades; Sky's sword was blue, Riven's was purple and Brandon's was green.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Rose asked as she, Jack, The Doctor, Tecna and Flora took cover behind a large hedge. It wasn't much cover against stun guns, but it was all they had at the time.

"There's not much we can do," said Jack, "lost my sonic blaster back in The Blitz. I could have gone and got another," he glared at The Doctor, "but someone had to blow up the factory in the 51st century and plant a banana grove there."

"You blew up a weapon's factory?" Tecna asked The Doctor.

"And planted a banana grove?" Musa asked.

"What can I say?" said The Doctor, "banana's are good."

Rose risk a glance over the hedge and saw the three Specialists duel the kidnappers. The enemy were armed with short orange energy blades and were, to Rose's eyes, rather good. But then she saw how well Sky, Brandon and Riven were fighting, and she knew that those three boys were definitely master swordsmen.

And of course, Bloom was more than holding her own as the enemy continued shooting stunning bolts at her. None of the blasts got past her shield of fire, while her fireballs had rendered at least two of the kidnappers unconscious.

Just then Timmy ran up behind the hedge, a blaster pistol of some sort in his hands, "these guys are serious! Not as serious as the psycho witches, but they mean business."

"They're not leaving without taking us," said Tecna.

"Then let's not give 'em a chance to get us," said Musa. She then said something in a language that Rose didn't understand. Suddenly the air was filled with some sort of music, a hip-hop beat to be exact. Rose glanced up to see that three of the kidnappers had collapsed to the ground, their ears were bleeding.

"Nice," said The Doctor, "though I wouldn't risk that again, they know we're over here by now." As if in affirmation, two of the kidnappers set their blasters to 'automatic' and began pummeling the hedge with rapid-fire stunning bolts.

"Hell of a time for Stella to get kidnapped," said Tecna as Rose and the others ran for better cover, "she's mastered the teleportation spell."

They got behind a corner of one of the buildings where Timmy began returning fire with his blaster, knocking one kidnapper out. Six of the enemy were down, but there were still eleven left.

"Now I really miss my gun," said Jack.

"Always carry a spare," said Timmy as he tossed another blaster pistol to Jack.

"My thoughts exactly," said Jack. He and Timmy began shooting at the kidnappers, who had by now also taken cover around the courtyard.

"That one guy I hit was a lucky shot," said Timmy, "I hit him in the head. All these' body shots we're getting are being absorbed by their armor."

True enough, the kidnappers that were unconscious were that way due to luck. Musa's spell hit them in their ears, while Bloom's rage-fueled magic overwhelmed the enemy's body armor. Yet at this time the kidnappers were on to Bloom's strength and had taken cover.

"That's Class-7 Magic-Absorbing Armor," said Tecna as she used her wrist computer to take a quick scan of the kidnappers, "they're highly effective against offensive magic, but there is a weakness. If I can get a better scan of their armor, I can find the frequency of the armors' power source."

Tecna tried to scan the area again, but had to duck from a fury of stun bolts.

"That may not be a good idea," said Rose.

"How 'bout this then?" said The Doctor. He pointed his Sonic Screwdriver around the corner and scanned the area. The then aimed the device at Tecna's wrist computer and uploaded the data he collected.

"A Sonic Screwdriver," said Timmy with much admiration in his voice, "I am so getting one for my birthday."

"You'll have to get in line," said Tecna as she processed the data on her wrist computer, "That's it! That's the frequency."

"That's great, Tecna," said Musa, "but how's that help us?"

"This is how it helps us," said Tecna. She leaned around the corner and shot a bolt of green lightning at one of the kidnappers. The green electricity then shorted out the armor of the kidnappers, then leapt to another of the enemy, shorting out his armor as well.

"I get it," said Rose, "you're overloading their armor. That's brilliant."

"Very brilliant," said The Doctor, "I was about to suggest it to you, but you thought if it first."

"Great minds do think alike," said Tecna.

"I think it's almost over," said Timmy. By now Tecna's spell had leapt to all the enemy's armor, shorting them all out.

Bloom then blasted three more with fireballs, while Musa used her musical magic to render three more unconscious.

Sky, Brandon and Riven then approached the remaining kidnappers, still ready to duel them.

With only five of the kidnappers left standing, most of them looking like they were ready to keel over. One of them, the leader, shouted "Retreat!" The five left standing teleported out, while the ones unconscious also teleported with them.

"Well that takes care of that," said Jack.

"Everyone alright?" Bloom asked. It was as if she was never angry. Rather, like her rage had been purged with the battle.

"Nobody's been hurt," said Brandon.

"Or taken," said Sky. He and Bloom hugged, "you were awesome, Bloom, again."

"They weren't psycho witches," said Bloom, "but they were tough. If Tecna hadn't shorted out their armor, we probably would have had a harder time with them."

"They weren't so tough," said Riven, "I could have taken them."

"Sure you would have," Brandon said sarcastically.

"Well regardless of how Riven would have done," said Tecna, "I wouldn't have gotten the frequency of their armor without help," she looked at The Doctor, "thank you."

"Anything for a fellow genius," said The Doctor.

"That still leaves Stella and Flora with those creeps," said Musa.

"I'm sure we'll find them," said Bloom.

"One thing is clear," said Faragonda as she and Griselda approached them, "the kidnappers have set their eyes on you, Bloom."

"As well as Ms. Musa and Ms. Tecna," said Griselda, "the enemy failed today, but they will be back."

"Then we'll just have to try harder the next time," said Sky.

"That reminds me," said Jack, he then spoke to Griselda in an accusing tone, "just where were you during all of this?"

"I was with the headmistress," said an irate Griselda, "we were trying to reestablish the defensive spells."

"We only just reformed the shield," said Faragonda, "nobody can teleport in again, but it's not at full strength, and for the moment there's nothing to stop anyone from teleporting out."

"Well they're gone now," said Musa, "so I don't think we'll have to worry about…" that's as far as Musa got, for she was knocked out cold by a stunning bolt.

From out of nowhere came four more of the kidnappers. They grabbed Musa and teleported out.

"Musa!!" shouted Riven.

The Doctor then held up his Sonic Screwdriver and used the reverse-teleportation feature. But only one of the kidnappers came back. This man was then tackled by Brandon, who then began thrashing him with his fists.

"Where are they!?" Brandon furiously demanded as he delivered punch after punch to the kidnapper's face. "Where's Stella!?!"

"And where's Musa!?" Riven demanded as he began kicking the kidnapper in the ribs. Just then Sky grabbed Brandon and pulled him away from the now unconscious kidnapper. Timmy did the same for Riven.

"Just calm down, dude!" said Sky to Brandon, "we'll get them back."

"We'll get them all back," said Timmy to Riven. Both boys began to calm down. Both Riven and Brandon sank to the ground, exhausted emotionally. But Brandon began sobbing for his lost love, while Riven was just numb.

"What just happened?" a confused Bloom asked, "how'd they do that to us?"

"I'd like to know that myself," said Jack.

"I think I know," said Rose, "those fifteen that we fought, they were just a distraction. The other five were the real abductors."

"But how'd they get here without us knowing?" Tecna asked. She scanned the area with her wrist computer, "I'm detecting two sets of fifteen teleportation signatures, fifteen in and fifteen out. How did those other five get in here?"

"I'm reading trace emanations of cloaking devices," said Timmy as he used a PDA-like device to scan the area, "they must have concealed themselves until the time was right to strike. But still, how did they get here?"

"The tunnels," said Bloom, "there's an underground network of tunnels connecting Alfea with Cloud Tower and the city of Magix. They must have come from underground, cloaked themselves and entered Alfea."

"And now they've got Musa," said Faragonda.

"They won't have her for long," said The Doctor. Rose could tell that he was as angry as she'd ever seen him, as angry as he was when he faced that one Dalek, "I promise you, Eleanor, well find and save all the fairies who were taken."

"Oh really?" Riven asked. He to was angry over what had just happened., "just what makes you so sure you can even find the girls?"

"I know I can," said The Doctor, "this isn't the first time I had to save someone from kidnappers."

"I've also been trained in rescue operations," said Riven as he glared at The Doctor, "but just what makes you so special? Just who the hell are you anyway?"

"He's the last of The Time Lords," said Tecna, "The Doctor is one of the greatest men who ever lived, past, present or future. And you, Riven, you owe him more respect than you can possibly give."

"Oh," said a cowed Riven, "well…I…err…"

"You don't have to say anything," said The Doctor, "all I ask is your word that you'll do everything you can to help save those who were taken, and I will do all that I can."

"You have it," said Riven.

Rose then realized that Bloom was looking at The Doctor in a strange way, sort of a mixture of awe, respect and just a hint of feat.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked.

"He's just like me," said Bloom in a distant tone, "The Doctor, we're the last of our peoples."

********

"How many did we lose?" Malcolm asked.

"Eleven injured and one missing in action," said Roy, "five of the injured had second and third degree burns. Five more have severe hearing damage, two of which may be permanent. One got his with a sun bolt in the head, there's a chance he many never wake up again. There's a lot of minor wounds from those three young swordsmen, we were lucky that we outnumbered those guys."

"And the one who was left behind?" Malcolm asked.

"Steve," said Roy, "someone there had a device that negated his teleporting signal. We could try and go back for him…"

"No," said Malcolm, "they'll be ready for us now. And we've still got to get the other two fairies," he looked at a viewing screen where Kevin and Hank were putting a collar around Musa, "all this for one girl."

"It's despicable," said Roy, "what those abominations are forcing us to do," he sighed, "what are we going to do? Steve had a wife and two daughters to look after, and one of this girls may have fairy magic. If what we're doing is making things worse for magical creatures, then I want no more of it."

"Neither do I," said Malcolm, "but until we get our families back from those things we're at their mercy." he looked towards the upstairs office, "I'm going to talk with them."

"They won't listen," said Roy.

"I have to try," said Malcolm, his voice cracking with desperation, "I can't let this go on any further." He took a moment to compose himself, then started towards the stairs.

Roy then saw on the view screen that Musa had regained consciousness.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" snapped Musa as she struggled against her captors. Despite the fact that the collar was negating her magic and leaving her physically drained as well as magically, she still put up a good struggle. Yet it was in vain as Kevin and Hank forced her to the room were all the captive fairies were kept.

They threw her into the room and locked the door before she could get up.

"Musa!" said a surprised Stella. She and Flora helped their friend up.

"Hi, girls," said Musa, "this ain't how I hoped to see you all after summer break."

At this Stella and Flora laughed a bit, but then became somber again as they remembered their situation. "What about Bloom and Tecna?" Flora asked.

"They're alright as far as I know," said Musa, "as well as Sky, Riven, Timmy and Brandon."

"Brandon," Stella sadly sighed.

"But they've got Faragonda and Griselda helping," said Musa in a hopeful tone, "and if I know our boys, they'll have an army of Red Fountain heroes waiting to come get us."

"That's our boys for them," said Flora.

"There's more," said Musa, "there's also a group of time travelers at Alfea and they said they'd help."

"Time travelers?" Flora asked.

"Yep," said Musa, "one of them is some kind of doctor, but something about him says that he's someone who keeps his promises. If he's involved, then we're as good as rescued."

"I hope so," said Flora, "and I hope that rescue is soon, for all our sakes."

"I hope so to," said Stella.

********

"We've captured one of the three you asked for," said Malcolm as he stood in the upstairs office facing his shadowed employers, "the one with the music talent. All we need is the technological one and the Dragonfire one."

"Excellent," said one of the employers. Its voice sounded like it came out of a computer, as if it were electronically produced. The voice was completely without emotion of any kind.

"But most of my men suffered horrific wounds," said Malcolm, "and one of us was left behind; Steve, he was a friend of mine and of us all, for all we know he's dead. He had a wife and two children. I should think that, now that Steve is gone, his family is no longer involved in this business."

"What is it that you are suggesting?" the employer asked.

"That you let them go," said Malcolm, "let Steve's wife and daughters go, and I swear to you that the last two fairies you need will be yours within a day."

"The arrangements we agreed upon prevents this," said the employer, "you are to bring to us the female creatures known as fairies. Once we have the required amount, then you will see your families. Then, not before, shall they be set free."

"But how do we know you'll uphold your end of the bargain?" Malcolm asked, "my men and I have keep our part so far, and all we need is to collect the other two fairies you asked for. If only as a sign of good faith…"

"No," said the employer in a louder, more enforcing tone. It and two others stepped from the shadows, revealing themselves to be humanoid robots, approximately two meters in height. Their bodies were silver gray with metal tubing running along their limbs. A vest-like plate adorned their chests. Their head were blockish with indentations for eyes and mouths. Handlebar-like extensions adorned the sides of their heads, forming right angles where the ears should be.

One of the Cybermen's handlebars were colored black, signifying that it was the leader. It spoke, "The agreement clearly stated that your people would be returned to you when we have the life forms known as fairies we require, and only when we have the number of fairies to fit our desires."

"And just what are those desires?" Malcolm asked, "my men are getting restless as to why we're doing this. Why are you having us kidnap fairies?"

"That information is not available to you," said the Cyber Leader, "nor will the whereabouts of your people be made to you until you acquire the last two fairies we desire."

Malcolm sighed, "I can see that it's pointless to argue with you metallic monstrosities. Very well, we'll get you the last two, somehow. But you'd better be sure that our families are safe. My men and I have upheld our end of the bargain so far, and we will see this to the end. Just make sure you see that you keep your end of the agreement."

"We will uphold our end of the bargain," said the Cyber Leader, "once we have the last two fairies we require, then you and your men shall see your families again. But know that if you fail to bring the fairies to us, you shall never see your families again."

"We'll get the job done," said Malcolm, "we'll bring them to you." Not wanting to be in the presence of the Cybermen any more, Malcolm left the office.

"Well?" Roy asked as Malcolm descended the stairs.

"No dice," said Malcolm, "it's either all the fairies they asked for, or the deal's off."

"But how?" Roy asked, "only you, me, Kevin, Hank and Irwin are in any condition to fight, and you said it yourself that they'll be ready for us next time."

"I know," said Malcolm, "but we have to do it, somehow. I promised us all that we'd get our families back from those metal bastards, and I keep my promises."


	5. Chapter 5

_Befroe we get started with the next chapter, i'd like to thank **Duke Devlin** for such a great review. He pointed out that the style of Cybermen in this fic were from the 5th Doctor serial 'Earthshock' and the 6th Doctor serial 'Attack of the Cybermen.' I like that style better than the others, even though my favoirte serial with the Cybermen was the 2nd Doctor serial 'Tomb of the Cybermen.' This style of the metal fiends worked out best for me. And now, without further delay, on with the show!_

**Chapter 4**

"Just why are we doing this again?" Riven asked.

"We need this guy conscious," said Bloom, "conscious and healthy. Otherwise we'll learn nothing from him."

Rose, The Doctor and Jack were at the far end of the Alfea infirmary, waiting for the nurses to heal the captured kidnapper. As Bloom had said, the kidnapper needed to be conscious and healthy so they could interrogate him.

"I don't see why we need him healthy," said an irate Brandon, "just wake him up. Five minutes alone with me and I'll make him tell us where the girls are."

"I think the last thing we need is any more roughhousing," said The Doctor.

"He's right," said Jack, "right now we need to be crafty about this. For all we know, this guy has been conditioned against interrogation."

"What do we do then?" Rose asked.

"Well, let's first figure out just what kind of person we're dealing with," said Sky, "Riven, you said that the kidnappers were from the Jasinian clan, right?"

"Yeah," said Riven, "so?"

"So, what do we know about the Jasinian clan?" Sky asked, "from what I heard, they're among the best body guards in The Magical Dimension. I should know, my parents tried to hire several of them to come with me to Red Fountain. My parents can be really overprotective sometimes."

"They're also known for their word," said Timmy, "once a contract has been made with someone in the Jasinian clan, they fulfill it, no matter what."

"But what could dive bodyguards to kidnapping?" Rose asked.

"Something terrible," said Bloom, "I may have been fighting them, but I kept my eyes open. My ability to see people's inner spirits showed me that the kidnappers were fighting us under duress, like they were being forced to do so."

"Could they be under some sort of enchantment?" Tecna asked, "or a form of mind control. There are several forms of dark magic and telepathy that can force someone against their will."

"No," said Bloom, "they weren't under any magical or psychic control I could see. It was like they were doing it willingly, but at the same not willingly."

"Like they had to fight," said Rose, "or else something terrible would happen."

"Exactly," said Bloom.

Just then the kidnapper woke up, "what the…where am I?"

"You're in the Alfea infirmary," said Faragonda, "and I do believe, young man, that you are in more trouble than you can possibly imagine."

"Consider yourself lucky that we don't eviscerate you on general principle," said Riven, "so start talking, buster."

"Where did you take Stella and the other fairies that you bastards kidnapped?!" Brandon demanded.

"I can't be here," said the kidnapper in a frantic tone as he tried to get up, "I have to get back to the others!" But Griselda waved her hand, and the kidnapper found he couldn't move. Rose guessed that some sort of restraining magic was used.

"You're not going anywhere," said Jack, "so tell us, where are the kidnapped fairies."

"You people need to let me go!" said the kidnapper as he struggled against the restraining spell, "I must get back with my team!"

"No," Faragonda said, "not until you explain yourself."

"Why are you kidnapping us fairies?" Tecna asked.

"Is it for some sick, twisted, perverted desire you creeps have?" Riven asked, "does it get you off terrorizing fairies?"

"You don't understand!" exclaimed the kidnapper, "my team and I were forced to take all those girls!"

"How many did you take?" Sky asked.

"Tell us or we'll start breaking bones!" snapped Brandon, "And then we'll move on to slicing you apart, one piece at a time!"

"Talk!!" exclaiemd Riven.

By now the kidnapper looked like he was having a panic attack.

"Let's all just calm down a bit," said Rose, "everyone back away and give the poor man some air."

"How can you symphonize with him?" Riven asked in an accusing tone, "this bastard and his bastard comrades took Musa!"

"I'm sure they didn't want to," said Rose.

"That's no excuse!" snapped Brandon.

"I think we all need to take a moment," said The Doctor, "Jack, you know where the kitchens are here?"

"Well, yeah," said Jack.

"Why don't you take Brandon and Riven there for some banana splits," said The Doctor, "That'll help them calm down. After all, bananas are good."

"That's actually a good idea, Doc," said Jack.

"I do feel like I need to replenish my blood sugar," said Riven in a more calm tone.

"Me to," said Brandon.

"I'll go with you," said Griselda. She looked at Jack in a disapproving manner, "somebody needs to keep an eye on this one."

"We're just going to get some ice cream," said Jack in an innocent tone, "what, I can't have ice cream anymore?"

"Oh you can have all the ice cream you want," said Giselda as she, Riven, Brandon and Jack headed for the door, "but anything you do involving chocolate sauce and whipped cream needs proper supervision, especially if to young, impressionable boys are involved as well. And don't get me started on sprinkles and nuts."

"Admit it," grinned Jack, "you missed me."

"What?" a flabbergasted Griselda asked, "no, I don't miss you at all! In fact, nothing would make me happier than, once this crisis has passed, to never see you ever again, Jack Harkness."

"Uh-huh," said Jack, "you missed me."

"No I don't," said Griselda.

"Yes you do," said Jack.

"After you stood me up, never!" said Griselda.

"Yes you do," said Jack as they, along with Riven and Brandon, left the infirmary and headed for the kitchens, "and you stood me up."

"You stood me up!" snapped Griselda.

"It's a shame," said Faragonda once they were out of earshot, "they made such a good couple back in the day. Pity they both wound up standing each other up."

"How'd that happen?" Bloom asked.

"I believe one of them got the reservation wrong," said Faragonda, "Jack wound up at the wrong restaurant, while Griselda was an hour late getting to the correct place. They would have made up, but from what I heard, Jack had to return to his own time. That was twenty-five years ago, and poor Griselda has been sore about it since."

"So that's why she's such a sourpuss," said Bloom.

"And here I thought it was genetic," said Tecna.

"At least that's one problem solved," said The Doctor.

"And we still have the big one to figure out," said Faragonda.

Rose then noticed that the kidnapper was still frantic, like he was on the verge of hysterics.

"I do believe, Bloom," said Faragonda, "that this would be a perfect opportunity for you to practice the calming spell."

"I'll do my best, headmistress," said Bloom. She then said something an a language that Rose didn't understand. A bright blue light appeared around the frantic kidnapper, but then his breathing eased and he relaxed.

"Now," said Faragonda to the kidnapper, "let's try this like civilized people. We'll start with your name."

"Steve," said the kidnapper in a much calmer tone, "Steve Jasian. I know you people have reason to hate me and my team, but we had no choice, we had to take all those fairies. We were forced to do it."

"But why?" Rose asked, "who would make you do such a horrible thing?"

"They're more like 'what'," said Steve, "they're as far from human as you can be. Our employers, if you can call things like them that, they're some kind of robots."

"Robots?" The Doctor asked.

"Our clan was traveling to a convention on Ginaz," said Steve, "the whole Jasinian clan was together for this event on the world of warrior schools, when we were ambushed by these robots. They took our women and children hostage. I have a wife and two daughters, my eldest girl may someday have wings of her own, but not if those metal monsters have their way with her and the rest of our families."

"So you are being forced," said Bloom, "but why do the robots want us? What possible reason could robots want fairies?"

"They didn't say," said Steve, "they just told us to bring them fairies. Each one we captured and brought back to the robot's base, we fitted her with a collar that negated her magic and kept her too weak to escape. Each time we brought back a fairy, or leader, Malcolm, he asked the lead robot if she was the last one. Until today the robots kept demanding more, at the same time threatening us that we'll never see our families again if we don't comply.

"But then when we brought back the sun fairy and the nature fairy, the lead robot told Malcolm that we needed to bring three more, just three more," he pointed at Bloom, "the Dragonfire fairy," he pointed at Tecna, "the technology fairy, and we already have the music fairy."

"They want us," said Tecna, "the Winx."

"The robots explicitly 'asked' for you five," said Steve, "they said that you were the strongest of your age group, especially you," he pointed at Bloom.

"But why?" Bloom asked, "I know that my friends and I are among the best fairies of our generation, but why fairies at all?"

"I wish I could tell you," said Steve, "so I can stop the robots. Whatever reason they want fairies, it'll be worse than death."

"Just what kind of robots are we dealing with?" Timmy asked.

"Whatever they are," said Bloom, "they'll find out that even the best of metal can melt when heated enough."

"You're still angry?" Sky asked tentatively.

"I am," said Bloom, "but not too angry so that I can't think straight. We need to know as much about these metal bastards as we can."

"I only saw them once," said Steve, "when they ambushed us and took our families. Malcolm is the only one of us that they'll allow to talk to, and none of the rest of us are complaining."

"You only saw them once?" Sky asked.

"Once was enough," said Steve, "you'd feel the same way if you saw what I saw. They attacked us, using some sort of phase-rifle. They stunned our families first, then they set their weapons on kill. Some of us tried to fight back, but they were killed instantly.

"The robots then told us their demands, then they took our women and children to their base. Their leader made an agreement with Malcolm; once the robots have enough fairies to suit their needs, then we'd get our families back."

"And you believe they'll keep their word?" Sky asked.

"It's not like we had any choice," said Steve, "before they took them away, the robots grabbed my unconscious wife and threatened to rip out her heart. They threatened to kill several of our women right then and there if we didn't agree to their terms.

"You know the reputation of the Jasinian clan; once we make a bargain, we follow it through to the end, no matter what. So yes, we had to take them for their word."

"Doctor?" Rose asked. The Doctor had a contemplative look on his face.

"Oh, sorry Rose," said The Doctor, "I was thinking. I've encountered scores of different types of robots, but none of them have ever expressed interest in fairies before."

"Well these clearly do," said Steve.

"Describe them to me," said Bloom. Rose then saw a pencil case and a pad of sketching paper appear in Bloom's hands.

"If you knew what they looked like, Doctor," said Bloom as she opened the sketchpad to a blank page and helda pencil in her hand, "then maybe you could tell us if you've seen them before."

"It's worth a shot," said The Doctor.

Steve then described the robots as humanoid with silver-gray armor. He gave a lot of details to the heads of the robots; square-like with indentations for facial features. He also said that the heads had handlebars where there should be ears, and that the handlebars of the leader were black.

When Bloom was finished with her sketch, which was a really good drawing, it had a distinct resemblance to the robot head she and The Doctor saw in Van Statten's vault in the year 2012.

"The stuff of nightmares," said Rose, remembering The Doctor used to describe the robot head.

"Yeah, but what are they?" Sky asked in an impatient tone.

"Cybermen," said The Doctor in a voice that was a mix of fear and anger, "they're called Cybermen."

"You sound like you've encountered them before, Doctor," said Faragonda, while Tecna typed into her wrist computer

"More than you can imagine," said The Doctor, "Cybermen are quite possibly the second greatest threat to free life in all of the universe, second only to The Daleks."

"How bad could they be?" Sky asked.

"Worse than the psycho witches, that's for sure," said Tecna as she read the information she called up from her wrist computer, "originally of human and humanoid races, Cybermen augmented their bodies with cybernetic parts; artificial limbs and organs, until they were nothing more than living brains inside robot bodies.

"While made nearly immortal and invincible, Cybermen have all emotion suppressed, becoming beings of pure logic. Truth be told, that doesn't sound so bad, from an intellectual point of view that is."

"It gets worse," said The Doctor, "Cybermen reproduce by making more of themselves, meaning they take your brain and put it in a robot body. They make more of them by turning you into one of them. And if they find that you're not 'compatible' for their enhancement, they kill you."

"Nice people you know, Doctor," said Sky.

"Just be glad you won't have to meet The Daleks," said The Doctor, "with them, Daleks just kill you, but Cybermen are far worse. I first meet them in Antarctica in 1986. The experience nearly killed me. But I regenerated and became a better person because of it, or at the very least, more interesting."

"'Regenerated?'" a confused Rose asked.

"I'll explain later," said The Doctor, "anyway, I've crossed paths with Cybermen more times than I'd like to count, each time we thought they were gone for good, they came back later."

"What came back later?" Jack asked as he, Griselda, Brandon and Riven came into the infirmary, each holding a dish full of banana splits.

"Cybermen," said Bloom, "the ones behind all the kidnappings."

"And just what are Cybermen?" Brandon asked.

"And can they be killed?" Riven asked.

"They're robots that make more of themselves by turning you into one of them," said Tecna.

"And they can be killed," said The Doctor, "but not easily."

"So what?" Riven asked, "just point me in the right direction and I'll slice them up real nice."

"I'm afraid it'll take more than energy blades and sheer guts to destroy a Cyberman," said The Doctor.

"I heard that their own weapons can be used to destroy them," said Jack.

"True," said The Doctor, "at least twice I've managed to grab one of their guns and turned them on their owners. But the hard part is getting hold of their weapons in the first place. On the other hand, there is one substance in the universe that The Cybermen have no defense against; gold."

"Gold?" Rose asked.

"The non corrodible nature of gold is like poison to them," said The Doctor, "or rather, like kryptonite. A friend of mine once destroyed several Cybermen with nothing more than a few gold pieces and a slingshot."

"Now I remember," said Jack, "in some point in the future, there will be a massive alliance of worlds that joined together to destroy The Cybermen once and for all."

"The Cyber Wars," said The Doctor, "a conflict that would have resulted in the end of free life in the galaxy, had not it been for the invention of a weapon that fires gold dust; The Glitter Gun. The Cybermen were helpless against it, and they were all but eradicated."

"Okay then," said Sky, "we have options for weapons against The Cybermen, I know where I can get some gold-headed arrows."

"That's good," said The Doctor, "I also saw several Cymbermen killed in the same way."

"And if you'll show us how," said Tecna, "we can make a Glitter Gun." Timmy then nodded in agreement.

"And I have more gold in my family's vault on Domino than I'll ever know," said Bloom.

"We'll stop along the way," said The Doctor, "when we go to rescue the fairies."

"But we still don't know where they are," said Brandon.

"I'll tell you where their base is," said Steve, "now that I've had a chance to think things over, I see no obligation to uphold my end of the bargain with those metal monsters. For all I know, they've already killed my family when I didn't come back with the others."

"You can't think that," said Bloom in a hard, determined tone, "we'll save your family, and the rest of your people, along with all the kidnapped fairies."

"We have to try," said Tecna, "it's in the nature of fairies to help innocents. So don't give up hope just because it seems hopeless."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Steve asked, "the Cyber Leader explicitly said that any attempt to rescue our families would result in them all being slaughtered. Their base is full of observation equipment, especially in the area where they're keeping the women and children.

"Even worse is the security around the room they're keeping the fairies. Those collars have defenses that prevent tampering. Once they're on, only a Cyberman can unlock them. They demonstrated what would happen if somebody managed to unlock it by hand; it exploded, killing the wearer instantly."

"I still don't believe it's hopeless," said Bloom, "tell me what the collars look like, and we'll find a way to get them off."

Steve then described the collars. They looked rather simple to the casual observer, according to what Bloom drew, but underneath the exterior was a set of complex energy catchers, as well as a very sophisticated locking mechanism that was connected to a small but powerful bomb. But there was something else, something that didn't fit right with The Doctor.

"That part of circuitry," said The Doctor, "and that part there," he pointed to an area on the back of the collar, "it looks like a transmitter."

"Why would they put a wireless transmitter on a collar if the prisoners are confined to a specific area?" Jack asked, "that doesn't make sense if The Cybermen made escape impossible."

"Unless the transmitter isn't for keeping track of the fairies," said Rose, "unless it's transmitting something else."

"Like what?" Riven asked.

"Like energy," said Tecna, "this model of transmitter can send energy from one point to another. But that still doesn't explain why put it on the collar. Unless…."

"Unless the energy being transmitted is magic," said Timmy, "the magic of a fairy. The Cybermen aren't just negating the fairies' magic, they're stealing it. But still why? Unless…"

"Unless they want to use it," said The Doctor, "Cyber-conversion requires a lot of power; it takes more energy to create one Cyberman than it does to run a household for a year. But fairies have incredible amounts of magical energy."

"They're using fairies as living batteries," said a shocked Rose, "to create more Cybermen."

"And they want me most of all," said Bloom, "the power of The Dragonfire was used to create The Magical Dimension. If they get me, if they use my magic, all that raw power, they can use it to create an army of Cybermen that could wipe out the entire Magical Dimension in one strike."

"I won't let that happen," said Sky, "no way are they getting you."

"And they won't get you either, Tecna," said Timmy, "not on my watch."

"But we still don't know where they are," said Bandon.

"Vallos," said Steve, "they're base is on a large planetoid in the Vallos system, about twenty parsecs from Telos."

"Within the original Cybermen empire," said The Doctor, "not a bad hiding place. Only gas giants and small worlds with poisonous atmospheres in the Vallos system."

"They told us that any attempt to get outside their base would be futile," said Steve, "that planetoid has a methane atmosphere. You'd be dead before you know it if your tired to leave without a self-contained environmental suit, and those metal bastards took ours away."

"Then how'd you get there?" Rose asked.

"My uniform has a special microchip in it," said Steve, "all of us in the team had them put in. The Cybermen said that each chip acts as a teleportation transceiver, allowing us to beam in and out. The base is shielded, so only someone with a chip can get past the defenses. But now that I'm here, my chip has surely been deactivated."

"Leave getting in to me," said The Doctor.

"You've got a means to getting past teleportation shields?" Riven asked.

"My ship can get past just about any shield," said The Doctor, "The TARDIS can go anywhere at any time; past, present and future."

"Is that so," said Bloom. Rose could tell that Bloom wanted to ask The Doctor something important, but was waiting for the right time to ask it.

"Even if your ship can get past the shields," said Steve, "that'll still leave the security systems. Those metal bastards will know if any intruder enters the base from any point.

"And it gets worse. They've set up each corridor with dozens of laser traps. You'll be sliced to ribbons if you try to get past those. And then there's the little metal vermin that the big robots have."

"Cybermats," said The Doctor, "they seek out brainwaves and attack."

"As if this couldn't get any more complicated," said Brandon.

"There's always a way to succeed in any mission," said Sky, "no matter how hopeless. I can't think of a way right now, but I'm sure we'll come up with something."

"I may already have something," said Tecna, "but some people here may not like it."

"I already don't like it," said Timmy, "no way are you risking yourself on this."

"What are you talking about?" Brandon asked.

"If I can get inside the Cybermen base," said Tecna, "I can shut down their security systems. All their technology is controlled by computers, right?"

"That's right," said The Doctor, "I get it, you're going to hack into their computers and turn them off."

"But it'll never work," said Timmy, "your wrist computer is powered by your magic. If they catch you, they'll put one of those collars on you and you won't be able to use your magic at all."

"That's true," said Tecna as she touched her wrist computer, "but it also has a secondary power source for emergencies, and this might be just such an emergency."

"But you'll still be weakened by the collar," said Timmy, "how are you going to hack into the security systems and still try to get all the collars off?"

"Oh," said Tecna in a slightly deflated tone, "I really didn't think that far ahead. My computer doesn't have a feature to remove collars."

"Can a Sonic Screwdriver do it?" Rose asked.

"It should," said The Doctor, "unless the collars are Dead Locked."

"They're not," said Steve, "they're only booby trapped against tampering via human hands."

"Then I don't see why I won't be able to get the collars off," said Rose, "while Tecna shuts down the security systems."

"There is one problem with that," said The Doctor, "you're not going."

"Why not?" Rose asked, "I'm the only one besides you who knows how to use a Sonic Screwdriver."

"You can show me how," said Tecna.

"You'll be busy with your computer," said Rose.

"There's another problem," said Jack, "you're not a fairy."

"The Cybermen are specifically looking for Tecna and me," said Bloom, "they know what we look like. They'd know you were a mortal the second they see you."

"Is there a way to trick them into believing that I'm you?" Rose asked, "that I'm Bloom and have all her powers?"

"I guess there's an illusion spell that can do that," said Bloom reluctantly. Rose could tell that the young fairy had no desire to put an innocent in any danger, especially one where a friend would be thrown to the lions, metal lions more like.

"An enchantment can be prepared to give Rose the appearance of Bloom," said Faragonda, "while at the same time give Bloom the appearance of Rose. An observer who wasn't present at the casting of the spell wouldn't know the difference."

"So The Cybermen will think she's me and that I'm her?" Bloom asked, "you know, that really could work."

"That'll still put Rose in incredible danger," said The Doctor.

"Any more danger than we've been in before?" Rose asked, "You heard what Bloom said. If The Cybermen get her powers, they could create an unstoppable army. If they think I'm her, they'll surely keep me alive."

"But the second they put that collar on you they'll know they've been fooled," said Brandon.

"Then we'll have to work fast," said Rose, "Tecna, how quickly can you hack into the security systems?"

"I won't know until I see exactly what I'm up against," said Tecna, "but I've never encountered a system that I haven't been able to break through in more than seven minutes, nine if I'm having a bad day."

"Let's just hope that today's a good day for you," said Rose.

"I'm starting to like this plan," said Sky, "okay, we let the Jasinians take Tecna and Rose, who has been enchanted to look like Bloom. We then go to my place on Eraklyon and pick up some gold arrows.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Bloom, "my family vault on Domino has some gold arrows as well."

"Well that'll save some time," said Sky, "okay then, we go to Domino, get some gold and gold arrows. Then we'll go to the planetoid base. By then Tecna should have the security systems deactivated while Rose should have gotten all the collars off. We then attack and destroy all the Cybermen and get all the fairies home."

"We still need to make a glitter gun," said Timmy.

"I'll have the design ready before you know it," said The Doctor.

"Then you'll let me do this?" Rose asked.

"Well it's not like I want you to," said The Doctor, "but you have a point, we can't let The Cybermen get Bloom or her powers. And you do have a habit of getting yourself in and out of trouble, and that, Rose Tyler, is one of the reasons you're so fantastic."

"I'm not that special," said Rose in a modest tone.

"Oh yes you are," said The Doctor, "more than you can imagine."

"So we're all in agreement on the plan," said Bloom.

"I can begin the enchantment whenever you and Rose are ready," said Faragonda.

"I just need to make a quick phone call first," said Rose as she pulled out her enhanced Mobile.

"You can get better reception out in the courtyard," said Bloom.

Rose left the infirmary and headed to the courtyard, leaving The Doctor with Tecna and Timmy as they planned to build the weapon to use against The Cybermen.

She got outside and dialed home, knowing that the upgrade The Doctor gave her Mobile would reach her own time. The call connected with her home in London, but got Jackie's answering machine. Rose waited for the beep and then spoke…

"Mum, it's Rose. Just wanted to say hello and to let you know I'm alright. The Doctor is fine, and so is Jack. Oh, that's right, you haven't met Jack yet, and I'm sure you really don't care how The Doctor is anyway."

********

Back in present-day London, Jackie Tyler came home from a good day's shopping to the sound of the answering machine picking up, then heard her daughter's voice.

With both hands full of merchandise, some of it fragile, Jackie hurriedly put the bags down and rushed over to the phone and picked it up. "Rose!!"

"Mum!" said a surprised Rose, "I didn't think you'd be home."

"Well I am home, dear," said Jackie, "so, how are you?"

"I'm fine," said Rose, "you're not going to believe this, but we're on a world where magic is real."

"Magic?" a confused Jackie asked, "like where the man in a suit pulls a rabbit out of a hat?"

"Nothing like that," said Rose a she smiled, "I mean real magic; spells and enchantments, like in Harry Potter, only for real."

"You could give J.K. Rowling a few pointers," said Jackie.

"I'll bet I could," said Rose. "Listen, mum, this may be the last chance I'll get to talk to you for a while."

"Why?" Jackie asked, "is that Doctor fellow getting you into trouble again?"

"No," lied Rose, "noting like that." It wasn't so much a lie. This time Rose was volunteering to go into danger, but either way, telling her mother what was going to happen would throw Jackie into hysterics, and hearing her mother in such a state could destroy Roses' resolve.

"It's just that," said Rose, "it's been a while since I've said how much I love you, mum, you mean the universe to me."

"Oh dearie," said Jackie, "that's so sweet of you. Are you sure you're not getting into trouble again? If it's anything like the Slitheen…"

"This isn't anything like that," said Rose, "I'm just helping out some friends I've made. If this works, a lot of innocent lives will be saved."

"And if it doesn't?" Jackie asked.

"I'd rather not think about that, mum," said Rose, "but I won't be in any real danger. I'm just helping out, that's all. The Doctor and Jack will do all the dangerous work."

"Who's Jack?" Jackie asked in a tone that was part accusing and part curious.

"Didn't Mickey tell you?" Rose asked.

"I haven't heard from Mickey since he left for Cardiff," said Jackie, "so? Tell me about Jack." Rose then realized that less than a day, probably only minutes, must have passed in her own time since she, Jack and The Doctor left Mickey in Cardif.

"He's another time traveler," said Rose, "and he's just a friend."

"Is your friend single?" Jackie asked.

"Mum!" exclaimed Rose. She then looked through the window into the infirmary and saw that The Doctor, Tecna and Timmy were putting the finishing touches on a device that looked like a pump-action spay, like the kind used to water plants. Rose guessed that magic was used to create the weapon so quickly.

"I've got to go, mum," said Rose, "a lot of people are depending on me."

"Just be careful, dear," said Jackie.

"I'll try," said Rose, "love you, mum."

"Love you to, Rose," said Jackie. With that the line disconnected.

"Okay, then," said Rose as she came back into the infirmary, "I'm ready whenever everyone else is."

"It's not too late to back out, you know," said Jack.

"I know," said Rose, "but my mind's made up."

"Good, 'cause we're ready," said Tecna. She and Timmy had just put the finishing touches on the glitter gun.

"All we need is a large supply of gold dust to arm this thing," said Timmy.

"Like I've been telling everyone," said Bloom, "I've got more gold than I know what to do with back on Domino."

"We're about to put some of it to good use," said The Doctor.

"Rose, Bloom," said Faragonda, "if you two would stand next to each other, we can proceed with the illusion enchantment."

"Right," said Rose, "let's do this."

"I've always wondered what I'd look like with blond hair," said Bloom, "never really got around trying it out."

"I never thought myself as ginger," said Rose as she and Bloom stood side by side, "but I guess this could be a learning experience for the both of us."

Faragonda then said something in a language that Rose didn't understand. She then felt a surge of energy pass though her, while her vision was briefly distorted by green and orange lights. The sensation passed as quickly as it came.

"And that is that," said Faragonda.

"That's it?" Rose asked.

"I guess so," said Bloom, "but I don't feel any different."

"Neither do I," said Rose. "And you don't look any different either."

"Neither do you," said Bloom.

"I did say that the spell wouldn't work on anyone present at the casting," said Faragonda. She then called forth a mirror and showed it to Bloom and Rose.

To Rose's astonishment, the face looking back at her was Bloom's while Rose's face looked back at Bloom.

"Oh," said Bloom, "this is kind of cool."

"It is," said Rose, "so, how are we going to do this? How are we going to get Tecna and I to the Cybermen's base?"

"They're still out to get two fairies," said Steve, "Bloom and Tecna. If it appears that the two of them are out in the open, with no one and nothing protecting them, then my team will definitely try to capture you."

"You sure about that?" Brandon asked, "we sure did a number on your team when they attacked Alfea."

"We sure did," said Riven.

"You're telling me," said Steve as he tenderly felt along his jaw where Brandon punched him, "but my team is desperate to end this. Even with only a handful of us still able to fight, we'll find a way to get the job done."

"In that case," said Bloom, "I think the best thing to do is have Tecna and Rose out in the open, preferably away from Alfea."

"Like in the Magix park," said Tecna.

"Exactly," said Bloom, "then when the Jasinians take them, we can go to Domino, get the gold, then go to the Cybermen base."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Jack.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5**

"This may seem a little awkward," said Rose, "now that we're almost at the moment of truth, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about this."

Rose, disguised as Bloom via enchantment, sat with Tecna on a bench in the park in the middle of The City of Magix. They were waiting for the Jasinian kidnappers to come and capture them so they could be taken to the Cybermen base.

"It's not too late to call it off," said Tecna, "I'm sure we can come up with another plan."

"No," said Rose, "we all agreed on it. Just because I'm a little afraid doesn't mean we have to back out." She checked her pocket and felt the outline of a spare Sonic Screwdriver that The Doctor had given her before she and Tecna left Alfea.

"I still have trouble expressing myself with my emotions sometimes," said Tecna, "but from what I can tell, you're more than a little afraid."

"You're right," said Rose, "I'm more afraid than I've ever been. After all the things I've seen and done, this is the most terrifying that I've done. And the worst part is that the last conversation I had with my mum involved lying to her. And yes, I know I had a good reason, but still, if this doesn't work and I…"

"You're not going to die," said Tecna, "not while Bloom is involved. I know you've only just met her, but the thing about Bloom is that when you're associated with her, great things happen, magical things."

"Well at least I now believe in magic," said Rose. She sighed, "it's just that, I've seen so much since I've started traveling with The Doctor, and there's still so much more to see."

"I'm sure you'll see it all," said Tecna.

Just then something caught Rose's eye, something she was surprised to see, yet unconsciously she anticipated that she'd run into it sooner or later. She got off the bench and walked over to a nearby tree where someone cared two words into it.

"'Bad Wolf,'" said Rose, "there it is again."

"There's what again?" Tecna asked as she got up and looked at the tree, "those words? As far as I know, they've been here for years on that tree. Flora once told me that it's a crime to disfigure trees like that, but I honestly don't see the harm."

"But those two words," said Rose, "'bad wolf,' everywhere The Doctor and I have been, we've seen those two exact words at some point. Every place and time we've traveled to; past, present and future, those words are there. It's like someone is trying to give us a message."

"What kind of message?" Tecna sked. But then she collapsed in a heap as she was shot with a stun bolt that came out of nowhere. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Oh bollocks!" said Rose, just before she got hit with a stun bolt. She collapsed to the ground, dead to the world.

"That was too easy," said Roy as he, Malcolm and four other Jasinians emerged from their camouflaged positions. "I was so certain that they had a trap set for us."

"They may yet," said Malcolm.

"Who cares?" Kevin asked, "We've got the last two fairies those metal monsters wanted. All we have to do is get the two girls back to the base, slap the collars on them and it'll be over; we'll get our families back."

"Then let's not waste any more time," said Malcolm as two of the Jasinians picked up Rose and Tecna, "I've got a bad feeling about this." With that they teleported out with their ill-gotten prizes.

********

"They've taken Rose and Tenca," said Bloom, "I can sense it."

"Then there's not a moment to spare," said Sky, "it's only a matter of time before the kidnappers and their metal employers realize that they've been tricked."

"I'm ready," said Brandon, "all we need to do is go pick up some gold from Bloom's vault on Domino."

"Assuming our ride ever get's here," said Riven.

They were waiting in the Alfea courtyard for The Doctor to return with The TARDIS.

Jack was already there with Steve. The Jasinian insisted that he be allowed in on the rescue mission, "I'm the only one here who knows the layout of the base."

"All the same," said Brandon, "we're keeping an eye on you."

"One false move and you'll wish you'd never been born," said Riven in a menacing tone.

"He doesn't mean it," said Timmy in a reassuring manner, "he's just wound up, that's all."

"Damn right I'm wound up," said Riven, "Just when is this Doctor getting here with his ship anyway?"

"He'll be here," said Jack, "if there's one thing I know about The Doctor, he knows how to make an entrance."

Just then the air was full of the sound of something wheezing and groaning. Before everyone's eyes, The TARDIS materialized in the Alfea courtyard.

The door opened, "Gentlemen and lady," said The Doctor, "adventure awaits."

"I told you he knows how to make an entrance," said Jack.

"This is going to be so cool!" exclaimed Timmy as he clutched the glitter gun in his arms, "to think we're about to step inside an actual Gallifreian time ship."

"I don't see what the big deal is," said Riven, "I mean, it's just a box, a big blue box."

"Sure doesn't look like a ship that can move through time and space," said Brandon.

"Things aren't always what they seem," said Sky, "especially in The Magical Dimension."

"Well spoken," said The Doctor, "shall we?" He held the door open.

"Ladies first," said Riven.

"Yeah," said Bloom hesitantly.

Both Jack and The Doctor were then amused at the sight of first Bloom, then Sky, followed by Steve, Brandon, Riven and Timmy, as the five teenagers and Jasinian stepped into the TARDIS for the first time. Their reaction was expected.

"It's bigger on the inside," said an astonished Bloom.

"Yes it is," said The Doctor.

"This is impossible," said Sky as he looked around the bridge, while Brandon hurried outside to look around the ship, then stepped back inside, "even for The Magical Dimension."

"It's not impossible," said Timmy. Among the five teenagers, he was the only one who looked like he was thinking straight at the sight of the inside of The TARDIS, "the inside of this ship is in a slightly different plane of reality than the outside, thereby allowing nearly infinite space within."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," said The Doctor, "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, TARDIS."

"Cool ship," said Brandon, "but why does it look like a blue box on the outside?"

"The TARDIS has a Chameleon Circuit," said The Doctor, "she can disguise herself so that she can blend in completely in whatever environment we arrive in. But it's stuck as a Police Box, been that way since we visited London in 1963. I tried to fix it a few times, but none of them worked out. But still, I like it this way."

"Well I think it's brilliant," said Bloom.

"So do I," said Sky.

"Excellent," said The Doctor, "now, if everyone would stand where I need them, we can be on our way."

The Doctor then directed Bloom, Sky Brandon and Timmy to stand in front of one of the six control panels around the central column, while he and Jack took the last two.

"Why don't I get a control panel?" Riven asked.

"We need you to keep an eye on Steve," said Sky.

"And because you can't even drive stick," said Brandon. He then looked at The Doctor, "seriously, why are we helping you drive this thing?"

"Because this type of time ship requires a standard crew of six people," said The Doctor, "otherwise a lot of variables are unaccounted for, and who knows where and when you'll end up?"

"Wait a second," said Sky, "you've been driving this time ship for hundreds of years without a full crew? With rarely more than two companions? And sometimes only one? Forgive me for asking, but are you nuts or something?"

"No, but it's more exciting that way," said The Doctor.

"I guess he's got a point," said Bloom, "things can be a bit boring when you're 900 years old."

"Trust me," said Jack, "it's never a dull moment around The Doctor."

"Right then!" said The Doctor. He then told Jack, Bloom and the others which buttons and switches to press, and the central column began rising and falling. The deck of the ship vibrated as The TARDIS flew through the time vortex, but unlike previous flights, this one was much smoother.

"There we are," said The Doctor after about two minutes of flight. The central column slowed down and stopped, "The Royal Palace of Domino.

"Then let's get the gold and go rescue the girls," said Riven. He hurried to the door.

"Wait!" shouted Bloom, but it was too late. Riven opened the door and was greeted by a blast of freezing wind and snow.

Brandon and Sky barely got the door closed against the wind, leaving a half-frozen Riven shivering in the doorway. "I f-forgo-tt h-how c-c-cold it w-was here."

"Guess that'll teach you to look before you leap," said Jack.

"Not this century," said Brandon.

"There's more than adequate cold-weather gear in one of the closets," said The Doctor.

"I'll save us some time," said Bloom. With a wave of her hand, everyone was wearing heavy winter parkas, gloves and snow pants.

"That clothing-changing spell," said Sky as they left the TARDIS and found themselves in the frozen ruins of a once grand palace, "that's one of Stella's."

"I was going to surprise her that I learned the spell," said Bloom.

"I'm sure you will," said Jack, "now, about this vault of yours."

"It's this way," said Bloom. They followed her through the frozen corridors to a large set of doors. Bloom placed her hand on the doors and they opened for her.

Inside was a vast room filled with items of gold, silver, diamonds, precious gems, and a whole galaxy of valuable things one would find in a royal vault.

"This is your inheritance?" an amazed Sky asked.

"This room is only a handful of places on Domino that survived the Ancestress Coven when they attacked nearly 16 years ago," said Bloom.

"The Ancestress Coven," said Jack, "three of the most vile, despicable magic users to ever practice the dark arts."

"And their last living descendents," said Bloom, "the three psycho witches who attacked Alfea a few weeks ago, they're even worse, if that's possible." She sighed, "but enough about that, our friends are counting on us," she pointed into the vault, "the gold arrows and a few other gold-plated weapons are over there."

"Dibs on any gold daggers!" said Riven.

"Oh no you don't!" said Brandon as they rushed into the room.

"I'm just going to get those gold arrows," said Sky, "and we should also have some ingots to use as slingshot ammo."

"I'll help," said Jack

"And we need dust for the glitter gun," said Timmy. With that they, along with Steve, went into the vault.

"I hope they don't take too long," said Bloom, "every minute we wait is another minute less until the Cybermen figure out that Rose is a mortal."

"Not really," said The Doctor, "with a full crew, The TARDIS can take us to a point in time just after Rose and Tecna were taken. We can arrive at the enemy base less than five minutes after they arrived."

"Really?" Bloom asked.

"Yes," said The Doctor, "and no. I know what you're wondering, Bloom of Domino. We can go back to before your friends were taken, but we cannot stop the abductions. Some things cannot be changed."

"Oh," said Bloom in a deflated tone, "it's just that…"

"You were going to ask if I could use The TARDIS to go back to Domino before it was locked in a cursed ice age," said The Doctor, "well, I'm sorry to say it, but I can't. Events such as what happened to your world and mine are fixed in the flow of time; Time Locked.

"When my world was destroyed and my people annihilated, I tired to save them, I tried so many times, but nothing I did changed the course of events."

"What happened to your world and your people?" Bloom asked, "Are you really the last of The Time Lords?"

"The very last one," said The Doctor, "there was a war, a terrible war against a race of the most evil creatures in the history of the entire universe; creatures who were driven by hate, creatures whose only purpose was to destroy everyone and everything that wasn't like them."

"The Daleks," said Bloom, "what happened?"

"The Daleks had mastered time travel to the point where they could go anywhere in time," said The Doctor, "they could have ripped the universe apart in their hate-fueled desire to murder. The Time Lords were the only ones who could stop them.

"In the end we did, but at a terrible cost. The Daleks were destroyed, but my world, Gallifrey, it burned, and with every single Time Lord, except me. Of all the Time Lords, I survived."

"Your world was destroyed by fire," said Bloom, "and mine by ice," she sighed, then, as if sensing that the conversation needed to be changed, asked, "What happened to my parents? Oritel and Miriam."

"I wish I knew," said The Doctor, "they were good people, the best of people. Your mother and father ruled Domino with kindness, wisdom and justice as their weapons, always relying on words more than steel and magic to ensure that the right thing was done.

"I was there when their first daughter, your sister Daphne, was born. She already had her godparents chosen, but Oritel promised me that if he had another child, I would be her godfather. Again, I was there when you came along.

_(We see a flashback of a younger version of the 1st__ Doctor with a man with brown hair and brown eyes, as well as a girl about 10 years old with orange hair and green eyes. They are with a woman with long, dark red hair and green eyes. She is holding a baby girl with bluish-green eyes and a fringe of red and orange hair. All of them are smiling widely)_

"Your family had never looked happier when you first opened your eyes and saw the world. It was an even more joyous occasion, for it was foretold that you were to be the rightful keeper of The Dragonfire."

"What were you doing on Domino in the first place?" Bloom asked.

"I was bored," said The Doctor, "The Time Lords had long held a policy of observance and noninterference, always watching events unfold from a distance. But things got dull pretty fast for me when all I could do was just sit and watch the universe go by, when here was so much to see and experience first hand."

"I left Gallifrey and went exploring. Eventually I came to Domino and met your parents and elder sister. It didn't take much for all of us to become friends.

"But then The Ancestress Coven attacked. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't there when Domino fell. Shortly after you were born, I left to travel. Someone told me that Domino had been attacked, but the warning came too late. When I returned, the world was already frozen solid. Seeing a world of such beauty reduced to a frozen wasteland, it broke my hearts."

_(We see a flashback of the 1__st__ Doctor standing in the frozen remains of the royal palace, looking around with a look of utmost sadness on his face. He staggers out to the front door of the ice-encrusted palace and collapses to his knees. He shouts to the heavens all his anguish over the loss of his friends)_

"Hearts?" Bloom asked.

"Oh, that's right," said The Doctor, "Time Lords have two hearts."

"Huh," said Bloom, "I didn't know that."

"Not many people do know," said The Doctor, "anyway, I was devastated when I saw what had become of Domino. Even more so because I had no idea what happened to the people. Even in devastation such as this," he indicated the frozen remains of the palace, as well as the artic-like wasteland that was the rest of the planet, "there are always some survivors, but none were to be found.

"I then went back to Gallifrey, straight to the rulers of my world, begging to be allowed to go back in time and prevent the defilement of Domino. This when I was not even 200, barely matured in the eyes of my people. They told me that what happened on Domino was Time Locked. Not even the combined power of every single Time Lord that ever was and ever would be could change it."

_(We see a flashback of the 1__st__ Doctor arguing with the High Council of Gallifrey. He insists that he be allowed to change what happen, but the High Council shakes their heads in refusal. The Doctor looks at them with contempt, then storms out of the council room)_

"That must have been terrible to hear," said Bloom.

"More than you can imagine," said The Doctor, "after that I left Gallifrey again and didn't return for over 200 years, not until I was caught and brought back to face charges of meddling with the flow with time."

"But aren't you meddling with time now by helping us?" Bloom asked in a slightly accusing tone.

"That's the thing that's been bothering me," said The Doctor, "I've been back and forth through time for hundreds of years, and never once has there been even a hint of Cybermen in The Magical Dimension, until now.

"Something must have changed history to allow them to come here, but what? Unless…oh! Of course!"

"Of course what?" Jack asked as he and the boys came out of the vault. Sky had his arms full of gold arrows, Riven had several gold-plated daggers, Timmy had several bags of gold dust, while Steve, Jack and Brandon had their arms full of ingots.

"That hiccup in time that sent us off course," said The Doctor, "it must have had something to do with The Cybermen being in The Magical Dimension. I'll wager my weight in Jelly Babies that we were meant to come here and stop The Cybermen."

"Then let's not waste any more time," said Bloom as she smiled eagerly, "fate has a task for us."

They all hurried back to The TARDIS. "How much time do you think has passed for Rose and Tecna?" Timmy asked once the door was closed and everyone was back in their previous attire, thanks to a spell from Bloom.

"Only a minute or so," said The Doctor. He then directed everyone to take their stations around the central column, while Riven kept an eye on Steve. The central column rising and falling as The TARDIS once again entered the time vortex, "and if we're lucky, which we might this one time, another minute will have passed for them when we get there."

********

In truth it was more like six minutes had passed since Tecna and Rose were stunned and taken from the park. When Rose woke up, she was in a dark room full of very frightened teenaged girls.

As she regained her senses, Rose realized that she had the magic inhibiting/collecting collar around her neck. Yet aside from feeling groggy from the stun blast, she didn't feel weak at all.

Rose then saw Tecna with Musa, as well as two other girls whom Rose assumed were Stella and Flora.

"So you're Rose Tyler," said Flora, "It's really nice to meet you," she shook Rose's hand, "I must say, that illusion spell Faragonda used is really convincing. I almost thought you were the real Bloom when they brought you in."

"I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you as Bloom," said Stella, "but Tecna explained who you really were."

"Is it true?" Musa asked, "are Bloom and the boys coming to save us?"

"They'll be here soon," said Rose, "but we've got to work fast," she checked her pocket and was relieved to find that the Sonic Screwdriver was still there.

"They didn't even search us," said Rose as she pulled the Sonic Screwdriver out.

"No they didn't," said Tecna as she checked her wrist computer, "they didn't even try to remove my computer."

"Didn't you tell me once that that thing is attached to you?" Stella asked.

"All people from my world have some piece of technology implanted with them at birth," said Tecna, "nothing as extensive as Cybermen, but the technology is part of us." She checked her wrist computer again, "it shut down when they put the collar on me. I activated the emergency power unit when I woke up, but it needs another minute to reboot and check for errors. Then I'll be able to hack into the security systems."

"I'll get started then on getting the collars off," said Rose, "I just hope I can do it without accidentally blowing someone up."

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Musa asked.

"I hope so," said Rose as she changed the setting on the Sonic Screwdriver that The Doctor told her that would unlock the collars, "now, who's first?"

"Stella is," said Musa as she pushed Stella forward.

"Why me?" Stella asked.

"It's just that I don't want to risk blowing up," said Musa.

"Well neither do I," wined Stella.

"I'll go first," said Flora, "and hope for the best."

"Guess that's all we can hope for now," said Rose. She sat next to Flora and began trying to get the collar off.

Unknown to Rose, she and the captive fairies were still being watched by the Jasinians.

"It's over," sighed Roy, "it's finally over."

"Now that we've got all the fairies those metal monsters want," said Kevin, "they'll have to give back our families."

"They'd better," said Hank, "otherwise Steve would have died for nothing."

"We don't know if he's dead," said Kevin.

"Oh come on, Kevin!" said Irwin, "you know how pissed off they were at Alfea. They probably killed Steve out of pure spite."

"Fairies don't do that," insisted Kevin, "they are incapable of cold blooded murder. And when they do actually kill, it's only as a final resort when no other options are left to them. No, Steve is alive, I'm sure of that."

"Well regardless of if he's still alive," said Hank, "one thing's for sure; those metal bastards had better give our wives and children back."

"Malcolm's talking to their leader right now," said Roy, indicating the upstairs office, "he's telling them that we've kept our part of the deal, and that they should keep theirs as well."

Just then something crashed through the shaded windows of the office and fell to the floor, something that turned out to be Malcolm.

"Boss!!" exclaimed Kevin as he, Hank, Roy and Irwin rushed over to their leader, who was struggling to get up.

"I don't understand," gasped Malcolm as he pulled shards of glass from his face and arms, "we did as they asked. We brought them all those fairies."

Just then the door to the office opened and the Cyber Leader came out, followed by six Cybermen. All of them were armed with blasters, all of them set for kill.

"We kept our end of the bargain!" shouted Malcolm as he stood up, "we brought you all the fairies you wanted!! You owe us to keep your end of the bargain!!"

"You did not bring all the fairies we requested," said the Cyber Leader as it and the other Cybermen reached the floor and advanced on the Jasinians.

"But we did!" insisted Roy, "the last two were the ones you wanted. We made certain that they were Tecna of Binary and Bloom of Domino."

"The technological fairy is indeed the one we requested," said the Cyber Leader, "but the Dragonfire fairy is an imposter."

"What?" Malcolm asked with disbelief, "that's impossible. We made sure that their magic matched the descriptions you gave us. They were who they were supposed to be. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Kevin asked.

"Unless they replaced Bloom of Domino with someone," said Malcolm in a slightly distant tone, "they knew we would come back, so they set us up after all."

"If one of the fairies is an imposter," said Roy, "then we'll just have to go back and get the last one. We'll figure out a way, we always do."

"That will not be necessary," said the Cyber Leader, "it is clear that you Jasinians are unreliable."

"No!" said Malcolm, "we've kept our end of the deal so far. This is just a minor setback."

"Your excuses are irrelevant," said the Cyber Leader, "you and your Jasinians are no longer necessary. We will find the Dragonfire fairy ourselves."

"But we had a deal!" said Roy, "we'd bring you the fairies you asked for, then you'd give our families back. We had a deal!"

"A bargain which you failed to uphold," said the Cyber Leader, "therefore, your families are no longer useful as hostages." It turned to one of the Cybermen, "dispose of the hostages. Those fit for Cyber Conversion may be kept alive, but the others are to be eliminated."

"I obey," said the indicated Cyberman. It turned around and left.

"No!" shouted Kevin. He pulled out his blaster, set it for kill and shot the Cyberman. It absorbed the blast like it was just a love tap. It then retaliated by turning its blaster on Kevin. The weapon made a high-pitched chirping as it fired and shot several bolts of bluish-green energy. Kevin caught the full blast and died on the spot.

"You murdering metal monsters!!" snapped Malcolm, "I will…!"

"You are in no position to threaten us," said the Cyber Leader, "be grateful that we have decided that you male Jasinians are worthy of Cyber Conversion. Any further resistance and you shall all be eliminated without delay."

Just then another Cyberman approached, "Leader. Our sensor scans have detected Gallifraian technology in the holding area, specifically a device we identified as a Sonic Screwdriver."

"One of the fairies has a Sonic Screwdriver?" the Cyber Leader asked.

"The imposter to be exact," said the Cyberman.

"This is most curious," said the Cyber Leader, "most curious indeed." It then sent a recall signal to the Cyberman who was ordered to 'deal' with the families of the Jasinians, "postpone the conversions of the Jasinians. We have other matters to attend to."

********

Rose was just about to figure out how to remove the collars without triggering the explosives, when the door to the holding area burst open and the Cyber Leader entered, flanked by two additional Cybermen. The captured fairies cowered away from the metal monstrosities, but Stella and her friends held firm, event though they were also frightened as well.

"Bring her," said the Cyber Leader as it pointed at Rose. The two Cybermen approached Rose.

"You leave her alone!" shouted Musa, but one of the Cybermen shoved her roughly out of the way. The other grabbed Rose before she had a chance to hide the Sonic Screwdriver, which the Cyberman confiscated. The two metal monsters dragged her out of the room.

"Rose!" shouted Tecna.

"It'll be alright!" Rose said, "don't give up hope! It'll be alright somehow!" They dragged her through the door and locked it behind them.

"What now?" a terrified Stella asked.

"I don't know," said Flora.

"We have to keep working," said Tecna as she began typing on her wrist computer, "they didn't notice my computer, and they may not. I've got to try and turn their security system off, otherwise our Bloom, our boys and The Doctor will be massacred when they get here."

"If they are coming," said Musa, her voice betraying her lack of hope.

********

Rose was manhandled into another part of the base, a large room filled with vast arrays of machinery and computers the likes of which she had never seen. At least a dozen more Cybermen were in the room.

One of her 'escorts' handed the Sonic Screwdriver to the Cyber Leader.

"You are a companion of The Doctor," said the Cyber Leader as it held the Sonic Screwdriver, "are you not?"

"I am," said Rose. Even though she was nearly out of her mind with fear, she didn't let it overwhelm her. She stood defiantly before the Cyber Leader, "and before you ask, no, I won't tell you where he is or what his plan is."

"We can assume what his plan is," said The Cyber Leader, "you were to attempt to remove the collars inhibiting the fairies' magic, thereby allowing them to fight back, while The Doctor attempts to infiltrate our base and attempt a rescue. This we cannot allow."

"I can guess why," said Rose, "you need the energy of fairy magic to power your machines and make more of you, well it isn't going to work! The Doctor is coming, and we're going to smash you all!"

"Is that so?" said another mechanical voice, one much deeper than the Cyber Leader. From the shadows emerged a Cyberman who was at least 7 feet tall. There were no handlebars on the sides of his head, which was considerably taller, as if to make room for a larger brain.

"Controller!" said the Cyber Leader. It and the other Cybermen saluted.

"This human is intriguing, Cyber Leader," said the Cyber Controller, "she is experiencing high levels of anxiety, yet her mind is still functioning at optimum levels for a human."

"Forgive me for not taking that as a compliment," said Rose.

"It was merely an observation," said the Cyber Controller, "you are afraid, yet you are in control of that fear. I assume you have experienced this level of fear before."

"More than you can imagine," said Rose, "after all that I've seen and done, you have to be insane not to be afraid. I've journeyed five-billion years into the future and witnessed the destruction of Earth. I went back to 1869 and prevented an invasion of ghostly aliens, while helping restore Charles Dickens' faith in the human spirit. I've faced down Autons, the Nestene Consciousness, Slitheen, twice actually, a Jagrafess and Time Wraiths. I ordered the very last Dalek to commit suicide, so I'm pretty sure that a bunch of rusting Cybermen are nothing to be afraid of, not to be paralyzed by fear anyway."

"We do not relish that our presence causes fear," said the Cyber Controller, "we have no desire to inflict any pain at all. Instead, it is ourmission to free all humanoid life forms in the universe from pain. Hate, rage, fear, despair, all of these emotions have caused pain. Would you not want that, a life without pain?"

"Not even if my life depended on it," said Rose, "you can't have hate without love, we wouldn't know what love was without hate, just as you wouldn't know what rage and anger were without serenity. You can't have fear without courage, and you can't have despair without hope. Emotions are best kept in balance, not to be stripped away as if they were parts in a machine."

"You simply do not know better," said the Cyber Controller, "emotions cause strife and conflicts. Cybermen desire only peace and perfection, neither of which cannot be achieved as long as one is hindered by emotions. Only by embracing pure logic can there be peace."

Rose was about to retort, when one of the computer terminals flashed red and sounded an alarm, "Control system breach detected," said one of the Cybermen, "unidentified hacker attempting to override security systems!"

"Counter!" ordered the Cyber Leader, "trace the breach to its source and eliminate!"

"Too late!" said the Cyberman, "override complete! Security systems deactivated!"

"Reestablish them!" ordered the Cyber Controller.

"Non responsive!" said the Cyberman as it tried to regain control over the computer, "all access to security protocols denied!"

_Way to go, Tecna! _thought Rose. "Having trouble with your toys?" Rose asked, "maybe you should change your service providers."

"You," said the Cyber Controller as it glared its eyeless face at Rose, "you have something to do with this." Even though there was no emotion in the synthesized voice, Rose could tell that it was feeling a spark of anger.

"Maybe I did," said Rose, "maybe I didn't."

"Alert!" said another of the Cybermen as it checked a different computer terminal, "sensors detecting time vortex activity in Sector 7! TARDIS materializing!"

"The Doctor," said the Cyber Leader.

"Send all available units to Sector 7!" ordered the Cyber Controller, "destroy The Doctor and all those with him!"

"Good luck!" said Rose, "we've prepared weapons to fight back against Cybermen."

"That remains to be seen," said the Cyber Controller, "but you will not live to see the fate of your friends," it gestured to Rose's two 'escorts', "eradicate her!"

Before the two Cybermen flanking Rose could do anything, two small metal objects flashed from out of nowhere and stuck to their heads. The objects then sent out pulses of electromagnet energy through the bodies of the two Cybermen, shorting out their electronic functions in showers of sparks. They collapsed to the floor, their synthesized voices screaming in agony as their systems permanently shut down.

A woman in her early twenties with long brown hair in a braid and dark brown, almost black eyes. She wore a green camouflage suit . She grabbed Rose by the arm and said, "Cover your eyes!" she then threw another object at the other Cybermen.

Rose closed her eyes to avoid the intense flash of light that scrambled the visual circuits of the Cybermen.

The woman then pulled Rose out of the room, leaving the Cyber Leader, Controller and the rest of the Cybermen shouting, "Visual circuits impaired! Malfunction! Malfunction!"

After running down the hallway for half a minute, Rose and they mysterious woman turned a corner and stopped to get their bearings, "where is Princess Stella being kept?" she asked.

"There's a holding room were they've got all the captive fairies," said Rose, "I think I can find it again, but we have to meet up with Bloom and The Doctor first!"

"That's not acceptable," said the woman, "we have to find Princess Stella first. Otherwise those metal bastards will kill her and the rest of the prisoners!"

"You're right," said Rose, "I wasn't thinking straight first. We also have to get those collars around their necks off first, otherwise they can't use their magic."

"It's worse than I thought," said the woman.

Just then Rose sighed in annoyance, "the Sonic Screwdriver! The Cybermen still have it. Without it I can't get the collars off without risking the fairies being blown up."

"One of the Jasinians may know how to get them off," said the woman, "let's go find them first."

"Okay," said Rose, "wait, who are you?"

"I'm Gabrielle," said the woman, "I'm Princess Stella's bodyguard, and I'm here to uphold my duty to the royal family of Solaria."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

The TARIDS exited the vortex and materialized within the Cybermen base. The room the ship arrived in appeared to be a large storage area filled with metal boxes that housed equipment of some sort. There were several hallways leading out from the storage room into the rest of the base.

The Doctor was the first to look out the door, "all clear," he said. Bloom, Jack, Sky and the others exited the ship.

"No sign of any security system activity," said Timmy as he scanned the area with a PDA-like device, "Tecna must have done it."

"Let's just hope that Rose did her job as well," said Brandon.

"If anyone can pull her part off," said Jack, while The Doctor closed and locked the TARDIS door, "it's Rose."

"Aren't you worried that The Cybermen would try to get into The TARDIS?" Bloom asked The Doctor, "from what you told me, it'll take more than a simple lock to stop them."

"The lock on The TARDIS is much more than simple," said The Doctor, "when locked, not even the assembled hordes of Mongol can get through the door, and believe me they've tried."

"Just how tough is The TARDIS?" Brandon asked.

"Tough enough to survive hundreds of years of time travel," said Timmy, "if half the stuff I've heard about The Doctor and The TARDIS are true, then yes, The TARDIS is one tough ship."

"She's more than a ship," said The Doctor as he looked at The TARDIS affectionately.

Just then Jack saw something coming from around the corner of the corridor ahead, something that turned out to be a pair of Cybermen.

"Look out!" shouted Jack, just as the Cybermen fired their blasters, the weapons making electronic chirping sounds as they sent their deadly bolts at our heroes as they took cover behind the metal boxes.

"So those are Cybermen," said Bloom as she, Sky and The Doctor ducked as one blast came a little too close.

"Ugly bastards," said Sky as he fitted a gold arrow to his bow, but then had to duck as a blast hit the box he, Bloom and The Doctor were behind, "ugly, but pretty good shooters."

"Then we'll focus their attention somewhere else," said The Doctor. He aimed his Sonic Screwdriver at a nearby box and caused it to open. This distracted the Cybermen to shoot the box.

Sky took the advantage as he came up from cover, drew the arrow back, aimed and fired at the closest Cyberman.

The arrow pierced the metal chest of the robot and imbedded itself in its mechanical heart. The Cyberman died in a shower of sparks, it's synthesized voice screaming in agony.

Riven then threw a gold plated dagger at the other Cybermen, hitting it also in the chest. It shorted out, screaming its electronic death wail as it shut down permanently.

"Gold really does work against them," said an amazed Brandon, while Riven pulled his dagger from the metal carcass.

"Can't wait to try out the glitter gun," Timmy said eagerly.

"In the meantime," said Jack as he grabbed one of the blasters of the fallen Cybermen, "now this is more like it."

"My thoughts exactly," said Steve as he reached for the other blaster.

"I don't think so," said Brandon as he activated his energy sword, "you're still on probation as far as I'm concerned."

"These metal bastards took my family and made my team and I kidnap all those innocent girls," said Steve, pointing at the slain Cybermen, "I'm in this as much as you guys are. I've told you all the information you asked for and more, what else do I have to do so you can trust me?"

"We'll talk about that later!" shouted Bloom. Four more Cybermen were approaching, their blasters chirping as they shot their deadly bolts.

The Doctor, Jack, Bloom, Sky and the others took cover again, Jack shooting back with his appropriated blaster, while Sky shot another gold arrow. Both attacks missed, while the Cybermen shot back.

"Let's see if this baby really works," said Timmy as he hefted the glitter gun. He aimed at the closest Cyberman and shot a concentrated packet of gold dust at it. The packet exploded on contact, dousing the Cyberman and another one with the yellow dust.

Both Cybermen began moving stiffly as the dust clogged their systems and shorting out their systems. They wheezed electronically and collapsed to the floor, sparks shooting from their bodies as they died.

Jack then shot another Cyberman with the blaster, killing it.

Bloom then shot a stream of Dragonfire at the fourth Cyberman. It screamed electronically as the intense magical heat melted it into a puddle.

"Outstanding," said an impressed Doctor.

"You think that was hot stuff," said Bloom, "wait till I use my full magic, then you'll see some…" but that's as far as Bloom got. She was tackled by Steve, pulling her out of the way as another Cyberman shot its blaster at Bloom. The bolts missed by a hairsbreadth.

Sky then shot another gold arrow, hitting the Cybermen in the chest. It died in a shower of sparks.

"Now do you trust me?" Steve asked as he helped Bloom get back up.

"I certainly trust him," said Sky.

"Me to," said Bloom.

"Me three," said Brandon as he handed a blaster to Steve, which he took.

"I guess so," said Riven, "but I'm still keeping an eye on him."

"Fair enough," said Steve, "we're in Sector 7. The holding cell is in Sector 2, this way." With that they followed him further into the base.

********

"I think we're almost back to where they're keeping Stella and the others," said Rose as she and Gabrielle hurried through the corridors.

"The sooner we get there," said Gabrielle, "the better." Just then a Cyberman came around a corner and shot its blaster at them. Gabrielle and Rose ducked. Gabrielle then got back up and threw another EMP device at the robot, destroying it in a shower of sparks.

"Those things are handy," said Rose as she got back up.

"Yeah," said Gabrielle, "but I don't have many more of them. I didn't have time to make as many as I'd like to, but I felt that time was against me to save Princess Stella." She walked over to the slain Cyberman and picked up its blaster.

"You really care for her," said Rose.

"I'm more than her bodyguard," said Gabrielle, "I'm her friend, a big sister almost." With that they continued on.

"How did you find this place anyway?" Rose asked.

"I had help," said Gabrielle. She showed Rose a small device that looked like a GPS receiver, "there are hundreds of noble families in The Magical Dimension, and thousands of VIP families with children who are high-risk targets for kidnappings. Those like Princess Stella are at the most risk, so she had a tracking spell placed on her when she was little. I traced her location with this," she held up the device, "I would have acted immediately, but I had to return to Solaria and acquire better equipment once I found out that The Cybermen were involved."

"Then you know why The Cybermen are kidnapping fairies," said Rose, "they're taking their magic in order to power their machines so they can make more Cybermen. The collars are collecting the fairies' magic and sending it to the Cybermen's machines."

"That I did not know," said Gabrielle, "then we'd better hurry and find some Jasinians so they can get the collars off.

But then Gabrielle was hit by a stun bolt. She collapsed to the floor, while three Jasinians came out from hiding and aimed their blasters at Rose.

"You stupid bitch!" snapped Roy at Rose, "if you hadn't meddled, Kevin and Steve would still be alive! Now those metal monsters are going to kill our families, and it's all your fault!"

"I didn't do anything!" said a very frightened Rose.

"Yes you did!" snapped Roy.

"I didn't!" said Rose, "and I didn't kill Steve, he's alive."

"What!?" Hank asked.

"Steve's alive?" Irwin asked

"He's alive and he's with The Doctor," said Rose, "they're on their way here with a rescue team to save the fairies. We know that The Cybermen have your families, but if we all work together, we can save everyone."

"Try telling that to Kevin!" snapped Roy, "those metal monsters murdered him when they found out that you're a mortal!"

"I didn't know they'd do that," said Rose, "I was just trying to help!"

"I think you should listen to her, Roy," said Hank.

"I think she should shut up!" exclaimed Roy as he switched his blaster from stun to kill.

"That's not necessary," said Rose in a hasty tone.

"Oh but I think it is!" said Roy as he aimed his blaster at Rose.

"I think not," said Malcolm as he limped towards them, "Roy, you need to put the safety back on that and put it away."

"It's her fault, Malcolm!" snapped Roy, "it's her fault we failed. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Jasinian clan has failed a mission, and it's her fault!"

"It's they Cybermen's fault for giving us such a foul mission in the first place," said Malcolm.

"But…" said Roy.

"But nothing," said Malcolm, "I've asked you to stand down, Roy, don't make me order you."

Reluctantly, Roy flicked the safety switch on his blaster and lowered it.

"That's better," said Malcolm. He looked at Rose, "I'm sorry about that, we're all a little stressed out right now."

"I can understand that," said Rose, "and I'm sorry that my being here got one of your men killed, but I was just trying to save my friends."

"You still can," said Malcolm, "I have the key to get the collars off of the fairies. They'll feel weak for several minutes after, but they should regain their energy soon after."

Just then Gabrielle woke up and got back to her feet, "that's the second time you Jasinians got the best of me. I can promise that it won't happen again."

"Sorry, ma'am," said Irwin, "just doing my job."

"So it was you who shot me just now?" Gabrielle asked, "and that first time on Solaria?"

"I'm afraid so," said Irwin.

"In that case," said Gabrielle. She then punched Irwin in the nose, breaking it, "now we're even."

"I hate to admit it," said Hank as he helped Irwin stem the blood from his broken nose, "but you earned it, man."

"But what about our families?" Roy asked, "Malcolm and I are single, but the rest of us have wives and children. Those metal bastards are going to kill them."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Malcolm, he then looked at Rose and Gabrielle, "the fairies are safe where they are. The Cybermen won't kill them while they're still taking their magic. But our women and children are about to be slaughtered."

"My duty is to protect Princess Stella," said Gabrielle, "but I'll be damned before I allow innocent women and children to be murdered. It's what Princess Stella would want of me."

Just then two more Cybermen attacked, followed by two more from a different direction. Malcolm, Irwin and Hank shot their blasters at the robots, but their shots had little effect against the metal monstrosities.

Gabrielle took aim with her pilfered blaster and fired. Her blaster bolts were on target. The Cyberman screamed its electronic death wail as it fell to the ground in a shower of sparks.

Rose then saw the pouch were Gabrielle had her EMP devices, she had dropped it when Irwin stunned her. Rose grabbed the pouch, took a EMP device and threw it at one of the Cybermen. It hit it in its metal chest and destroyed it.

Rose then saw that there were only two EMP devices left, with two Cybermen still trying to kill them. Rose threw one of them, destroying another Cyberman. But the last EMP device missed.

The remaining Cyberman shot its blaster at Rose. It missed her, but the bolt hit Roy in the chest. He fell to the ground.

"You bastards!!" exclaimed Malcolm. He ran forward and tried to grab the blaster out of the Cybermans' metal hands. He eventually wrestled it free and turned it on the robot, shooting it at point black range. The Cyberman died in a shower of sparks, its electronic deal wail echoing in the corridor.

"Roy!" shouted Malcolm. He hurried to his fallen comrade, who was still alive but barely.

"Don't let…the metal monsters…win, boss," gasped Roy, "save the…fairies and…our families."

"I will," said Malcolm as he held his friend's hand. Roy gasped a few more times, then went limp as the life fled from his eyes.

"I've had just about enough of this," said Malcolm. He picked up two more of the blasters and handed them to Irwin and Hank. He then got another blaster and handed it to Rose, "are you with us?"

"All the way," said Rose as she took the blaster.

********

"How much further?" Bloom asked after she melted another Cyberman.

"And how may more of these things do we have to kill?" Riven asked as he tried to pull one of his gold-plated daggers from the slain form of a Cyberman. One of his daggers had already broken off in one Cyberman, and when he pulled this one out, it looked like it was ready to break as well. Riven check to see that he was down to two more gold daggers.

"We never got an accurate count of them," said Steve, "but I'd venture to guess that there's more than 80 in the base but less than a hundred, including their leader."

"How do we know which one is the leader?" Sky asked as he checked to see how many gold arrows he had left. He grabbed thirty from Bloom's vault on Domino, and now he was down to less than ten.

"You see the handlebars where there should be ears?" The Doctor said, pointing at one of the deal Cybermen, "The Cyber Leader has black handlebars."

"So if we take out the Cyber Leader," said Brandon, "then the other Cybermen may give up."

"Cybermen aren't' the kind of creatures to surrender," said Jack, "they always fight to the finish. But if we take out the Cyber Leader, then there's a chance the others may shut down as a result."

"Maybe," said The Doctor, "but in almost every time I fought The Cybermen, the Cyber Leader was usually the last one to fight. Unless they have a Cyber Controller with them. Then they'll be even harder to defeat."

"What's a Cyber Controller?" Bloom asked. But then she had to duck as ten Cybermen shot their blasters at them.

"I'm starting to dislike these things!" said Brandon as he fitted a gold ingot to his slingshot and fired it at the closest Cyberman, killing it in a shower of sparks.

"I never liked them to begin with," said The Doctor, "where's a Raston Warrior Robot when you need one? No, that's a bad idea, it'd turn on us in a heartbeat."

Jus then Timmy shouted in annoyance. He tossed away the smoldering remains of the glitter gun, "damn thing blew a fuse! Oh well, it was a good plan, though I knew we should have made more."

"Well I don't think there's that many left to deal with," said Jack, "by my count we've downed over 40 Cybermen. Once we rescue the fairies, we can head for the hills without too much trouble."

Just then they came to a large door, "That's the holding cell," said Steve.

But then five more Cybermen attacked. Clearly the robots were ready to fight over their 'investments.'

"We don't have time for this," said Bloom, "Doctor, Captain Jack, prepare to be amazed."

"I know I will," said Sky, "you take my breath away every time you transform."

Bloom smiled at Sky, then raised her arms, "Magic Winx!!" there was a flash of bright blue light. When they could see, both Jack and The Doctor were amazed by the transformation Bloom had undergone.

She was now wearing a sparkly blue top decorated with a gold jewel at her chest, with a matching skirt and blue ankle boots. She also wore blue gloves around her arms from elbow to wrist and a small golden tiara with rounded points at the top of her head. To complete transformation, Bloom now had wings that were colored cyan with teal tips.

"Now that is what I call fabulous," said Jack.

"Fantastic," said The Doctor.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," said Bloom. She then sent a massive wave of Dragonfire out that melted the attacking Cybermen in a heartbeat. She then melted the hinges and locks off the door, which fell outward.

"Stella!" shouted Brandon as he ran in. He was then tackled by his beloved blond bombshell.

"Brandon!!" shouted Stella as she peppered Brandon with kisses, "I thought I'd never see you again, Snookums!"

"I'd die a thousand deaths before I'd ever leave you," said Brandon as they got back up.

"All's well that ends well," said The Doctor.

Bloom was then tackled by her friends Musa, Flora and Tenca, "Bloom!" shouted Flora, "you found us!"

"Well I had help," said Bloom, "Flora, this is The Doctor, my unofficial godfather, and…"

"Captain Jack Harkness," said the free-swinging time traveler from the 51st century, "and I'm very please to meet you."

"There's a time and a place," said The Doctor in a disapproving tone.

"Oh," said Flora, "you're _that _Jack Harkness, the one who infiltrated and brought down that eco-terrorist cell on Ravinia VI."

"That was nothing," said Jack, "just another day's work in the time agency."

"What kept you?" Musa asked Riven in an annoyed tone. "I've been in this horrible place for hours, while you were doing what?"

"It's not my fault we took so long getting here!" said Riven in an equally annoyed tone, "we had to figure out a plan first, then we had to wait for the kidnappers to take Tecna and Rose, then we had to stop at Domino to get some gold."

"Oh sure," said Musa in a disbelieving tone, "you kept us captives waiting while you raided Bloom's treasure vault, some story."

"We did!" said Riven, "we had to get gold weapons to kill the Cybermen."

"And just what are Cybermen?" Musa asked.

Just then one of the offending robots tried to shoot at The Doctor, but Bloom shielded him with a wall of Dragonfire. Riven threw one of his remaining gold-plated daggers at the Cyberman, killing it in a shower of sparks. Another Cyberman tried to attack, but Brandon killed it with a gold ingot from his slingshot.

"Those are Cybermen," said Riven. He then went over to retrieve his dagger, but it broke off at the handle. Now he had only one left.

"Well that's still no reason to take so long in getting here," said Musa as she crossed her arms.

"We had to follow Steve's directions," said Riven, who was clearly annoyed that Musa kept finding things to complain about.

"And who is Steve?" Musa asked.

"The guy who's been helping us," said Riven.

"I'm starting to think those two are hopeless," said Timmy to Tecna.

"Maybe," said Tecna, "but I'm hopeful they'll work out eventually. We did."

"Well we're different from them," said Timmy as he indicated Musa and Riven, who were by now squabbling like chickens, "we're a lot smarter and more understanding of each other."

"That we are," said Tecna as he held his hand, "That we are."

"Where's Rose?" Bloom asked.

"That's what I was going to ask," said The Doctor.

"They took her," said Stella, "those machines, Cybermen, must have found out that she was a mortal and they took her before she could get the collars off of us."

"We won't have to worry about that much longer," said Tecna as she went back to work on her wrist computer, "give me another minute, and I'll deactivate the collars remotely."

"But the Cybermen still have Rose," said Jack.

"I think I know where she is," said Steve, "or where she's going. The upstairs office were Malcolm met with the Cyber Leader is empty. I also found Kevin nearby, those metal bastards must have killed him."

"But what about Rose?" The Doctor insisted.

"I'm getting to that," said Steve, "I also found the wounded members of my team. They're alright for now, but our families are about to be slaughtered. Apparently when you guys caught me and later found out that Rose is human, my clan lost all credibility with the Cybermen. They ordered our women and children either killed or to be turned into Cybermen."

"That's horrible!" said Flora.

"It is," said Steve, "but I heard that somehow someone else infiltrated the base and managed to get Rose away from the Cyber Leader and Controller."

"So a Controller is involved," said The Doctor.

"I take it that is bad," said Musa.

"It'll make the job of destroying all of The Cybermen that much harder," said Jack.

"This person is the same woman we had to stun on Solaria," said Steve.

"Gabrielle!" exclaimed Stella, "I can't believe I forgot about the tracking spell."

"You had a tracking spell on you the whole time?" Musa asked in an annoyed and disbelieving tone, "and you didn't tell us?"

"I was a little preoccupied with the fact that I had just been kidnapped!" snapped Stella.

"What happened then?" The Doctor asked.

"Well, Rose and Gabrielle then met up with Malcolm and a few others," said Steve, "They're heading for where our families are being kept. If we hurry we can catch up with them."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sky asked.

"For this," said Tecna. She pressed one last button on her wrist computer, sending a signal to all the locking mechanisms on all the collars, telling them to open. All the collars fell off the captive fairies at once.

"You feeling alright?" Brandon asked.

"Much better," said Stella, "now that that things isn't draining my magic."

"It makes my skin crawl to think what those machines were going to do with our magic," said Flora, "use fairy magic to create more Cybermen, it's horrible."

"Then let's make sure that they never commit such a crime again," said Bloom. She then created four small spheres of Dragonfire and sent them to her friends; one for Stella, one for Musa, one for Flora and one for Tecna. The spheres entered their bodies without harming them. Instead the opposite happened, it helped them.

"That was some healing spell, Bloom," said Stella as her skin took on a radiant glow, "I'm almost back to my full powers again."

"It was more than a healing spell," said Tecna, "Bloom used her magic to recharge ours."

"Then let's give our magic a whirl," said Musa, while Flora nodded in agreement.

The four fairies then raised their arms and shouted, "Magic Winx!"

Stella was surrounded by a bright gold light, while Musa was engulfed in blue light, Tecna in green purple, and Flora in green light. Once again, when the light faded, Jack and The Doctor were amazed at the transformation.

Stella's hair was done up in pigtails. Her outfit was a sparkling orange top and mini-shorts, with knee-high boots of the same color. She also wore light blue tube wrist bands. Her wings were three leaflets with the color of powder blue with teal tips. Her ring had unfolded to a long staff that ended in several circles.

Flora now wore a fuchsia and orchid sparkling one piece, bare shouldered dress that modestly concealed a pair of mini shorts of the same color, and ankle-high boots also the same color. A delicate looking, orchid colored and shaped choker adorned her neck, while detached sleeves of the same color complimented her arms. Her wings were green-yellow in color.

Musa was now dressed in a sparkling red top with translucent pink fabric at the middle, a red mini skirt, and knee-high wedge red boots. She also wore purple headphones atop her head and purple ribbons around her fore-arms (the one on her left arm had loose ends hanging from it). Her wings were translucent bright blue with purple bands in the middle.

Tecna's was the most different from the others. Her outfit now consisted of a full body suit with sparkling lavender color lavender covering the torso and legs. She had powder blue sleeves which covered her hands and blue knee-high boots. She wore a lavender helmet which has a lime green tear-shaped brooch on it, similar to the one on her chest. Her wings were green bars which formed small squares on her back, in the form of a glider.

"Now that is impressive," said The Doctor.

"Outstanding," said Jack.

"Wait till you see us all in action," said Stella.

"Speaking of action," said The Doctor, "Jack, I think it's time we got the rest of the young captives out of here," he tossed a key to Jack, "spare TARDIS key, I'm trusting it with you, so don't disappoint me."

"Like I would ever disappoint you," said Jack.

"And behave yourself around these girls," said The Doctor, "I don't want to explain to your old girlfriend how you got all these young fairies in trouble."

"I'll be the perfect gentlemen," said Jack as he looked at the thirty other captive fairies, who were all looking at him with adoring eyes, "besides, I'm the one who has to worry about them. Ladies, your coach awaits." With that he and the captive fairies left the holding cell and started back to the TARDIS.

"I'll go with him," said Riven as he picked up a blaster from one of the slain Cybermen, "someone has to make sure he behaves."

"I'll go as well," said Timmy as he also picked up a blaster. He then looked at Tecna, "you'll be alright without me for a little longer?"

"As long as I'm with my friends," said Tecna, "I'll always be alright." She and Timmy then hugged, then he went with Jack. Riven left as well, but without saying anything to Musa.

"Why do I even bother with that ass?" Musa sighed with annoyance.

"Because deep down you care about him," said Bloom, "just as deep down he cares about you. But that can wait. Right now we need to go help Rose. Doctor, my friends and I are going on ahead, we'll find her faster by flying."

"And I have a locating spell that can help us find Rose in a heartbeat," said Flora.

"You truly are Miriam's daughter," said The Doctor to Bloom, "always ready to help those in need."

"He knew your birth mother?" Stella asked as she, Flora, Musa, Tecna and Bloom took flight and headed off into the base.

"I told you he was my unofficial godfather," said Bloom, "I know it's strange, but it's true."

"I'm going to marry her someday," Sky said as he watched Bloom and the others fly out of sight.

"You really think she's the one?" Brandon asked.

"Just as much as you think Stella is the one for you," said Sky.

"I hate to ruin the mood of you hot-blooded young men," said Steve, "but I'm married with children, soon to be a widower and childless if we don't hurry."

"My thought's exactly," said The Doctor, "shall we?"

"We shall," said Sky. He checked again how many gold arrows he had left, then picked up another blaster from a fallen Cybermen. With that he, Brandon and The Doctor followed Steve further into the base.

********

"I think we're almost there," said Gabrielle as she, Rose, Malcolm, Hank and Irwin hurried through the corridors, "I saw several Cybermen guarding this door on the way in. Princes Stella and the other fairies weren't in there, so I assumed it was something else."

"That something else has to be our families," said Malcolm.

"We'll save them," said Rose as they turned a corner, "then we can…whoa!" They had reached a large corridor junction where several hallways met. At one side was a door, and in front of that door was twenty Cybermen. They saw the rescuers and began blasting at them.

Rose and the others took cover behind a corridor corner. "If that isn't where they're keeping our families," said Irwin, "I'll eat my hat."

"I'll eat your hat if we get out of this," said Hank as he tried to blast back, but with so many enemy blasts in the air, it was nearly impossible to aim and return fire without getting hit.

Just then five human-sized shapes flew overhead. Rose looked up and was amazed at Bloom and her friends in their fairy forms. She saw Bloom cast a barrier of Dragonfire in front of Rose and her group, shielding them from the Cybermen blasts.

Tecna then blasted four of the enemy Cybermen with green lighting, shorting them out. Musa then sent a wave of hip-hop music at four of the robots, scrambling their audio circuits first, then the rest of their brain fuctions, causing them to short out.

Stella then shorted out four with an intense beam of sunlight from her staff, while Flora summoned constricting vines that grew out of the walls, which then crushed four Cybermen. Bloom melted the remaining four.

"Wow!" said Rose as Bloom and her friends landed, "I mean…wow!" of all the wonders she and seen, the sight of the five fairies with their fashionable sparkly outfits, and wings, this had to be the best.

"Being fabulous never fails," said Stella in a slightly smug tone.

"Looks like a few others are speechless as well," said Musa. Indeed, Hank, Irwin and Malcolm were at a loss at the sight of Bloom and her friends.

Malcolm then spoke, "I know you are probably felling rather ill thoughts about me and my men. But you have to remember, The Cybermen forced us to kidnap you."

"If you're hoping for forgiveness," said Flora, "you'll have to wait a while."

"You have no idea how scary it is being abducted," said Musa.

"Give us a break, lady!" said Irwin, "Those metal monsters have my wife and kids!"

"Mine to," said Hank.

"I'm single but it's almost the same for me," said Malcolm.

Gabrielle then spoke, "You and your friends really should forgive them, Princess Stella, they really did have no choice in the matter. And aren't you glad to see me? I tracked you halfway across The Magical Dimension."

"I am glad to see you, Gabrielle," said Stella, "and yes, I do forgive them."

"As do I," said Tecna.

"Me to," said Musa, while Flora nodded in agreement.

At that Malcolm, Hank and Irwin sighed in relief.

"But you guys owe us big time," said Stella.

"Darn right," said Musa, while Flora and Tecna nodded in agreement.

"We'll work it out later," said Malcolm, "and we will work it out, Jasinians always pay their debts. But right now we need to save our families."

"My thoughts exactly," said The Doctor as he, Steve, Sky and Brandon came in from another corridor.

"What kept you," said Rose as she smiled.

"You know, the usual," said Jack, "deadly robots out to kill us, the normal so and so."

"Oh, Doctor," said Rose, "I lost your spare Sonic Screwdriver, The Cyber Controller has it."

"Then we'll just have to get it back from him," said The Doctor as he held up his Sonic Screwdriver, "right after we save the Jasinian families. Just where is old big-head anyway?"

"Right here, Doctor," said the Cyber Controller as it, The Cyber Leader and about 45 more Cybermen filled the area and aimed their blasters at our heroes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

"Oh, Doctor," said Rose, "I lost your spare Sonic Screwdriver, The Cyber Controller has it."

"Then we'll just have to get it back from him," said The Doctor as he held up his Sonic Screwdriver, "right after we save the Jasinian families. Just where is old big-head anyway?"

"Right here, Doctor," said the Cyber Controller as it, The Cyber Leader and about 45 more Cybermen filled the area and aimed their blasters at our heroes.

Gabrielle, Steve, Malcolm and everyone else with pilfered blasters aimed back, but The Cyber Leader activated a small device shaped like a garage-door opener. Our heroes were then shocked to find that their blasters were out of power.

"Did you honestly think we'd develop weapons without the means to control them?" asked The Cyber Leader.

"Should have known it would have been too easy," said Brandon as he and the others dropped their now useless blasters.

"This is a lot more than you said there would be," Sky said to Steve.

"I lost count at 90 overall," said Brandon.

"So there's more of them than I thought," said Steve, "so sue me."

"You cannot win, Doctor," said the Cyber Controller, "we have you surrounded."

"A force-field has been set up in the base," said the Cyber Leader, "one strong enough that not even a time ship such as The TARDIS can escape now."

"Is that so?" The Doctor asked as he tried to think of a way to deactivate the force field, "then tell me, did you honestly think you'd get away with stealing fairy magic to power your Cyber-Conversion machines? This type of aggressive action goes against article 87, section 4, subsection 19 of The Shadow Proclamation."

"We do not recognize The Shadow Proclamation," said The Cyber Controller, "as for the magic, it was the most convenient resource at the time, considering how we arrived in this universe within a universe."

"The Cyber Wars decimated us, Doctor," said the Cyber Leader, "but as always we survived to rebuild. But then the war between The Daleks and The Time Lords occurred. We choose to remain neutral, to see who would emerge victorious."

"Had the victors been The Daleks," said the Cyber Controller, "we would have sough an alliance with them, knowing that a victory over The Time Lords would have left The Daleks exhausted to the point that they would do anything to ensure their survival, including joining forces with those they considered inferior.

"Had the victors been The Time Lords, then we would have moved in to deliver the final blow, knowing that a victory over The Daleks would have left The Time Lords equally exhausted."

"So one way or another you would have wound up on top," said Bloom, her voice full of contempt, "while countless worlds suffered the horrors of war."

"We merely sought the most logical path," said The Cyber Leader, "as any logical civilization would have."

"I hate to admit it," said Tecna reluctantly, "but they have a point."

"You agree then," said The Cyber Controller.

"I only understand," said Tecna as she angrily glared at the robot, "I don't have to like it."

"It is irrelevant whether you like it or not," said The Cyber Controller.

"It is to her," said The Doctor, "and to everyone else who believes in freedom."

"Freedom is an illusion," said the Cyber Leader.

"Perhaps to you," said The Doctor, "but do go on with your story, we're all eager to see how it ended."

"We waited for the war to end," said the Cyber Controller, "our battle computers predicting every possible outcome. With each battle in the war, new data was added to the simulations, changing the outcomes. But your strategy, Doctor, that was something we did not predict."

"Well you know us Time Lords," said The Doctor, "we love to be unpredictable, or at least I do."

"What's he talking about?" Stella asked.

"They burned," said Bloom, "the Time Lords, they sacrificed themselves and their world to destroy The Daleks. Only The Doctor survived."

"Your inferno had effects other than the destruction of The Daleks," said the Cyber Leader, "over 99% of all Cybermen were within range of the destructive wave front caused by the final battle. What you see here is all that is left of The Cybermen. The remnant used an experimental time machine to escape. We came to this realm, The Magical Dimension, in search of a new power source. We found it and proceeded to rebuild. And now you will surrender the fairies, Doctor, and the Jasinians. The fairies will provide us with the power needed to charge the Cyber Conversion process, and the Jasinians will be the first of the new Cybermen."

"In your dreams, metal-head!" said Bloom.

"You have no choice in the matter," said the Cyber Controller as it pointed at Bloom, "You possesses the most abundant energy we require. Your power shall help create multitudes of Cybermen."

"There's a problem with your plan," said Stella, "while Bloom is the strongest fairy in our age group, I'm the best one at teleportation spells!" She raised her staff, teleporting herself, Bloom, Flora, Musa and Tecna to behind The Cybermen. All five fairies unleashed their magic on the robots, destroying thirty of the robots.

Sky then shot three gold arrows, destroying three Cybermen, before he, Brandon and Steve grabbed active blasters and began blasting.

The Doctor then used his Sonic Screwdriver to deactivate the device The Cyber Leader had, negating the robot's advantage to turn off their blasters.

Malcolm, Gabrielle, Hank and Irwin wrestled blasters out of the hands of five Cybermen and began blasting as well. Within minutes only The Cyber Leader, Controller and another four Cybermen were left, and the four regular Cybermen were soon slain as Sky shot the last of his gold arrows at them.

"Looks like the boot is on the other foot," said The Doctor, "guess who's outnumbered now?"

"You still haven't won, Doctor," said The Cyber Leader, "we have one more strategy to use."

"What's that?" The Doctor asked.

"This base has been constructed with every possible outcome planned," said The Cyber Controller, "There are several low-yield nuclear devices built into the walls of the base. In the event that all protective measures fail, a self-destruct program is activated, detonating the bombs. Everything within twenty kilometers will be atomized."

"Wait," said Flora, "there are atomics here in this place? And we've been sitting around radioactive bombs?"

"I wouldn't worry about radiation exposure," said Malcolm, "nukes are built to keep radiation from getting out before they go off."

"And they will detonate," said The Cyber Leader as he held another remote-control device in its hand, "if you do not surrender."

"Surrender this!" shouted Riven as he and Jack came running up one corridor. Riven threw his last gold dagger at the Cyber Leader. It hit it in the chest. The Cyber Leader died in a shower of sparks, its electronic death wail echoing through the corridors.

It dropped the detonator as it hit the ground. The Cyber Controller tried to pick it up, but The Doctor shorted the device out with his Sonic Screwdriver.

"The last of The Cybermen," said The Doctor as he grinned eagerly, "defeated by the last of The Time Lords and his friends. What a story that'll make."

"You may have won here today, Doctor," said The Cyber Controller, "but know that you have not seen the last of us. Someday a new race of Cybermen will emerge, we have taken measures to ensure that."

"Then we'll just have to be ready to stop them as well," said a very angry Bloom, "you and your plans, you will all amount to nothing!"

"Better get out of the way," said Flora, "when Bloom get's like this, you can get hurt if you're too close."

"That's a good idea," said Rose. She, The Doctor and everyone else got as far away from the middle of the area as they could, where Bloom faced down the Cyber Controller.

"You Cybermen are a perversion of life," said Bloom, "you say you seek peace, but really all you want is to destroy freedom and individuality, emotion and imagination, all the things that make life worth living! You are evil and must be destroyed!!"

"Never!" said the Cyber Controller, "the Cybermen will not be destroyed by a human girl with wings!!" it lunged at Bloom, intending to strangle her.

Bloom shot a stream of Dragonfire from both hands, engulfing the Cyber Controller in flames. It didn't melt at first; clearly The Cyber Controller was made of denser stuff than its fallen comrades.

But then its outer plating began to melt. The Cyber Controller took a staggering step forward, its arms sill outstretched to strangle Bloom. It took another step as its plating melted, then another.

Bloom responded by increasing the strength of her attack, "you want my magic!? You got it! Power of the Dragon!!" a huge flaming aura in the shape of an orange Chinese dragon appeared around Bloom. The streams of Dragonfire from her hands intensified so that they were so bright and hot that Rose and the others had to back away further and shield their eyes.

By now the entire outer casing of The Cyber Controller had melted away, revealing it's metal skeleton and inner circuitry, yet it was still standing. It kept taking steps towards Bloom, now only three paces away from strangling her.

But then the rest of it began to melt at an accelerated rate. The Cyber Controller screamed it's electronic death wail as it finally collapsed on itself, melted and then boiled away form the intense heat.

Bloom released her dragon aura and she nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Sky ran forward and caught her.

"And that's that," said Bloom.

"We hope," said Sky, "Doctor, that thing said that there were more Cybermen out there somewhere."

"Maybe it was bluffing," said Stella in a hopeful tone.

"Cybermen rarely bluff," said The Doctor as he used his Sonic Screwdriver to unlock the door holding the Jasinian women and children.

"So there may be more Cybermen out there," said Rose.

"Maybe," said The Doctor, "and maybe not. We can only hope."

"Oh no!" said a very nervous Tecna as she checked her wrist computer, "oh this is bad! This is very bad!"

"What's very bad?" Musa asked.

"I scanned for the nuclear warheads," said Tecna, "there's thirty of them scattered across the base, all of them with a yield of less than a kiloton, but they're all active and in the final countdown stage. The Controller must have had a dead man circuit built into it. When it died, the bombs began counting down."

"How long?" Jack asked.

"Three minutes and ten seconds!" said Tecna as she read from her wrist computer.

"We'll never get everyone back to The TARDIS in time," said a frantic Rose, "I'm sure she can take the blast, but there's so many people to move."

"And we still need to get to our wounded," said Malcolm.

"There's one chance," said Bloom as she regained enough stamina to stand up, "Conversion."

"We haven't tried that yet!" said Musa.

"We're not even supposed to know about combining our magic that way until the new school year," said Tecna, "officially that is."

"I had a talk with Faragonda," said Bloom, "she mentioned it. It's our only hope."

"If we all focused our magic on one of Stella's teleportation spells," said Flora, "we could get everyone out of here in time."

"It's worth trying," said Tecna.

"I'm game," said Stella, "let's do it."

"It's better than giving up," said Musa.

"Right," said Bloom, "let's do it." She and her four fairy friends held hands, forming a circle. Rose then saw their magical aura; orange for Bloom, yellow for Stella, green for Flora, indigo for Tecna and blue for Musa.

"What's happening?" Rose asked.

"They're combining their magic," said The Doctor, "individually a fairy's magic is incredible on its own, but when combined with two or more, fantastic things happen."

Just then Rose was blinded by a bright flash, and the next thing Rose knew, she, along with The Doctor, Jack, Bloom, Sky and everyone else, including all the captive fairies, Malcolm and all the Jasinians, and The TARDIS, were back in the Alfea courtyard.

"I'll say this, Doctor," said Faragonda as she and Griselda came out onto the field, "you're one who knows how to make an entrance.

********

Less than three minutes later the bombs detonated, destroying the base and leaving a 20 kilometer-wide crater in the planetoid. Yet when the nuclear fireball faded and the dust began to settle, a single Cybermat, an insect-like machine six inches long and three inches tall, emerged from the crater. It sent out a signal, directed to prearranged coordinates in space, and then waited.

********

Arrangements were made to send all the captive fairies home. They had all made complete recoveries from the draining effects of the collars, and while some of them would need emotional counseling, no permanent harm had been done.

Healers had been brought in for the Jasinian wounded, while all those with families had been reunited with their loved ones. Rose was especially happy to see Steve with his wife and daughters.

"What's going to happen to you and your people?" Rose asked Malcolm.

"Well we can't go back to being a bodyguard clan," said Malcolm, "not yet. Our reputation has been tarnished because of this incident, and no doubt there'll be people who'll want to press charges. But we've lived through rough times before, and we'll live through this as well."

"Just so long as you take care of yourselves," said Bloom.

"That we will, Bloom of Domino," said Malcolm, "that we will."

Rose saw Stella and Brandon talking with Gabrielle, "I can't believe you found me," said Stella to Gabrielle, "I forgot about the tracking spell."

"I told your parents it was a good idea," said Gabrielle, "and they agreed with me, but you didn't want it at the time, you said it was tacky."

"Well I didn't understand it then," said Stella, "but I do now."

Rose then saw Timmy and Tecna avidly chatting with The Doctor about some sort of technical jargon. She then saw Riven standing at apart from Musa.

"They'll be alright," said Flora to Rose, "Musa and Riven may not want to admit it, but they're soul mates."

"What about you?" Rose asked, "where's your soul mate?"

"Haven't found him yet," said Flora, "but he's out there somewhere, and we'll find each other someday. Until then I'm content with being single. But what about you? Have you found Mr. Right?"

"I honestly don't know," said Rose. She was having conflicting thought. On one hand she and Mickey had been together for a while, and they'll always have something special between them. On the other hand there was The Doctor, who was The Doctor after all.

The Doctor meanwhile was speaking with Bloom, "it was really great meeting you," said the red-headed fairy.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well," said The Doctor, "you truly are the daughter of Oritel and Miriam."

"Do you really think they're still alive, Doctor?" Bloom asked, "I know that they are, but I'd like a second opinion."

"I also believe they're still alive," said The Doctor, "but whether or not they'll ever be found, that's something I cannot say."

"Why not?" Bloom asked, "does it have something to do with changing the future if I know?"

"There are some things even a Time Lord doesn't know," said The Doctor, "but if anyone can find your birth parents, it's you. You're an amazing girl, Bloom, and one fantastic fairy to boot."

"Everyone says I'm special," said Bloom, "but sometimes I wish I could go back to being a normal mortal girl from Earth, just as I'm sure you wish you could go back and change things for you."

"More than you can imagine," said The Doctor, "but the best thing we all can do is move forward and hope for the best."

"You'd better believe it," said Jack as he came over, "great things are about to happen, especially on Earth."

"What kind of things?" Bloom asked.

"We'd better not say," said The Doctor, "best not to spoil the surprises."

"But I'd keep an ear out for any strange things happening in London in the next few weeks," said Jack, "That's where it all starts. The 21st centaury is when everything changes."

"I'll be sure to keep a watch out for it," said Bloom, "do you really have to go so soon? There's so much more to see on Magix alone."

"We'd love to stay and see it all," said The Doctor, "but we've got an egg to deliver."

"I almost forgot that we need to go to Raxacoricofallapatorius," said Rose.

"But we will meet again," said The Doctor, "there's no doubt about that."

"So until then," said Jack as he kissed Bloom's hand, then kissed Sky on the forehead, "you two take care of each other now."

"Right," said Sky hesitantly.

"Definitely," said Bloom.

Rose then saw The Doctor talking with Faragonda, "you truly have an extraordinary bunch of students, Eleanor," said The Doctor, "I'm sure they'll be the best that Alfea has ever seen."

"Are you making a prediction, Doctor?" Faragonda asked, "or do you know something that I don't know?"

"Maybe so," said The Doctor in a playful tone, "and maybe not."

"Well, regardless of the girl's futures," said Faragonda, "it has been wonderful seeing you again, my friend. You should come by again soon, and I do mean not in another 17 years."

"I'll be sure to remember," said The Doctor.

"Do remember," said Faragonda, "for I fear that the next time we meet, you'll have changed again."

"It's a possibility," said The Doctor, "it's a big universe, you never know what will happen around the corner until you go there, and that's what makes it so exciting."

It was then that Jack found himself in front of Griselda, "Rachel…"

"Jack," said Griselda. There was a few tense seconds of silence before the two estranged lovers embraced and kissed passionately like there was no tomorrow, and there's a distinct possibility that they may not have a tomorrow, you know how time traveling in the TARDIS is like.

Finally they broke contact and went off in different directions; Griselda towards the main building and Jack towards The TARDIS.

"I certainly didn't see that coming," said Brandon.

"To think that old Griselda has a soft side," said Stella, "it's kind of heartwarming."

"Well I guess that's it then," said Bloom, "see you later, Rose."

"See you later, Bloom," said Rose. With that she, Jack and The Doctor entered The TARDIS. The door closed and the engine activated. The light atop the ship flashing in time with the groaning of the engine as The TARDIS vanished into the time vortex.

"Those three have got to be the most extraordinary people I've ever met," said Sky.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Bloom, "speaking of words, I need to call my adoptive parents on Earth, and ask then to tell me if they hear of any weird things happening in London. I believed Jack when he said that things were going to change, and when they do, I'll be ready."

********

Once again The TARDIS was careening through the time vortex on its way to Raxacoricofallapatorius.

"Let's hope we don't run into any more hiccups in time," said Jack.

"Oh come on," said Rose in a daring tone, "things would be boring without little mishaps like that. Besides, something good came of that hiccup in time."

"You're right," said Jack, "we saved The Magical Dimension from the Cybermen, and got to meet lots of interesting people, some of 'em single."

"I was talking about you getting acquainted with your old girlfriend," said Rose, "but the other stuff is okay as well."

"Well, yeah, that did work out sort of," said Jack.

Just then one of the display monitors on the central column 'dinged.' The Doctor read the data displayed on the monitor, "huh, that's interesting."

"What's interesting?" Jack asked.

"Is it another hiccup in time?" Rose asked, "I'd rather not have to save any more worlds, at least until we deliver the Slitheen egg."

"It's not that," said The Doctor, "but it's just as interesting. All this time the TARDIS computers have been analyzing the hiccup that sent us to Magix. Apparently it had nothing to do with The Cybermen at all."

"Then why'd we go there?" Jack asked.

"The hiccup wasn't from our time or the past," said The Doctor, "rather, from some point in the future. At some time within the next million years, someone is going to send us a message back in time, oh yes, the hiccup was a message directed to us."

"What was the message?" Rose asked.

"It's just two words," said The Doctor, a serious look on his face as he read the data, "those words," he turned the monitor so that Jack and Rose could see the words.

_BAD WOLF_

"Ever get the feeling that someone is trying to tell us something?" Jack asked.

"I've been getting that a lot," said Rose.

…DOCTOR WHO…

(preview for 'Bad Wolf')

(roll end credits)

And that's it, my very first Doctor Who fic. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully I'll think of another one before too long. If I do it'll involve the 10th Doctor. I don't know from which season, I can't decide between Rose, Martha or Donna. But when I do think of the story, I'll be great. Until then…


End file.
